An Explosive Relationship
by Narutochica
Summary: Hinata catches the eye of Akatsuki member Deidara. He sees her as a beautiful work of      art.Unfortunately it leads to him kidnaping her. Will Deidara win her heart, or will she prove to become the biggest challenge he has ever faced? May contain lemons
1. Chapter 1

Hi, I'm back! Exams are done! Freedom! -kisses computer screen-. Anyway, my reason for being late I've written at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!

She's Mine

A lone figure stood silhouetted against the sky. The top of the Konoha gates were perfect for watching the sunset, so they said. And they were right. The man shifted uncomfortably.

The sun had set several hours ago, but he had stayed in the same spot nonetheless. The sky was a dark blue, with plenty of cloud cover. Perfect for an ambush.

_But I've seen better views, yeah. _

He brushed several strands of long blond hair out of his eyes and peered down into the streets. The once-busy streets of Konoha were now empty and silent with the coming of nightfall. Only a few people were still up and about, one of them even leaning against the gate he was standing on.

Noboby noticed him. Genjutsu was there for a reason, wasn't it?

Deciding that Konoha wasn't as interesting as he thought, he took his time and walked slowly along the walls that surrounded the village. Pondering on whether or not he should just blow up the entire village for the fun of it.

_Un. Maybe I could have a little fun before going back, yeah. _He smirked wickedly to himself. _Besides, this should pay for that view. It was hardly impressive, yeah. Is there not a true piece of art here?_

His question was answered when he looked down and saw a young girl(about seventeen) sitting against an upright log at what must have been the training grounds. A large creme-colored dog was lying beside her, as if guarding her.

_Now that's a piece of art, yeah. I want her for myself._

He adjusted the scope on his left eye to zoom in on her face. Her eyes were a lovely lavender, and she had a pinkish tint on her cheeks. Her hair was an odd color. Dark blue with a purplish hue.

But what interested him the most was the gentle, kind expression she wore on her face.

_Hmm...pretty cute. Not hot, but cute is better, yeah. Un, beautiful eyes as well._

Deidara smirked, the tongues in his palm-mouths licking the edges of his hands in anticipation.

_She is mine and mine only. And I will take what is mine..._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata sighed and breathed in the cool night air. It was really late, about eleven-thirty. Still, she didn't care. Ever since she moved out of the Hyuuga compound, she had taken every opportunity to do whatever she liked; staying out late, hanging out with her friends, even going to the occasional party.

Those were things a teenager usually did ever since she turns fourteen or fifteen.

Hinata began acting like a real teenager at sixteen. And she had just turned seventeen.

Being a Hyuuga used to be very restricting. There was always a curfew, or some meeting the clan had to go to. Being the heiress, Hinata had it worse than others. She was pampered by the servants at home, but what she really wanted to do was be independent. But now, Hinata had truly found happiness beyond the walls of the compound.

"I really started out late, didn't I Aka?" Akamaru yipped in agreement. Though he was way too big, he plopped himself down across her lap like a puppy.

Kiba and Shino insisted that if she wanted to train late at night, that Akamaru accompany her for extra protection. Her teammates were really overprotective. Shino likely had a few of his bugs on her. Not that she minded.

She giggled, feeling pins and needles in her legs. "Akamaru Inuzuka, my legs are numb now. Come on, let's get going."Her canine companion barked happily and hauled his immensely heavy weight off her.

As she walked beside Akamaru through the empty streets, she had the distinct feeling she was being watched.

_Ugh. Don't get yourself stressed out over nothing..._

The last thing she wanted was for her to start seeing things. She smiled. Everyone said she used to have an overactive imagination. _Maybe I haven't grown out of it yet._

The wind began blowing toward them, making pieces of paper and plastic bags fly into the air. Akamaru sniffed the air and growled, his ears pricked. Hinata noticed this and frowned.

"Hm? What's wrong Aka?" Akamaru only quieted down.

For the next few minutes he stayed very close to his master's friend, constantly turning his head from side to side. His movements were making the young Hyuuga very nervous.

When they got to Kiba's Akamaru ran inside and grabbed Hinata's hand firmly in his teeth, trying to pull her in to the house with him. "Akamaru! Let her go!" Kiba said sharpy. His dog whined in reply and reluctantly released her.

Kiba scratched at his messy brown hair in confusion. "I'm sorry about that. Did he bite hard?"

Hinata checked her hand. There were only a few imprints where his teeth had connected with her skin. It didn't hurt at all. "No. Please don't be mad at him."

Kiba shrugged. "He does that rarely. Are you sure you don't want to stay here for tonight? It's really late for a woman to be out by herself."

His teammate smiled. "I'm a kunoichi, Kiba. I should be able to get home without trouble."

Kiba still looked like he would object. "Maybe me or Akamaru could escort you?" he offered.

"No, I don't want to trouble you two." Akamaru whimpered.

"Don't worry Akamaru, I'll play with you some more tomorrow." Hinata scratched under his chin and continued walking to her apartment.

Now that she was alone, Hinata felt a little frightened. Konoha seemed nice and friendly in the daytime, but at midnight...it was way too creepy at times.

It was only until she arrived in her apartment that she felt a little more safe. Hand shaking, she inserted her key into the lock and twisted it, half expecting something(or someone) to pop out. Opening the door gingerly, she discovered that there was nothing waiting for her.

Her apartment was small and cozy. The walls were painted white, and there were large, wide windows that gave her a view of Konoha. Her home was always comforting to go to after a long day. It would have been nicer if she had someone else to share it with, but it was all she had and she was very grateful for it.

"Oh...my...I'm hyperventilating again,"she whispered to herself. Activating her byakugan, she scanned her house to make sure no one else was there. When she found nothing, she had a quick shower and after changing into a nightgown went to bed.

That night, she kept the light on.

The next morning...

Hinata walked out of the apartment, relieved that it was daytime again. As she passed the newspaper vendor she noticed that there was an unusually large crowd of people lined up there. Not bothering to see what the commotion was about , she went right past the line to get to her sensei's house.

Kurenai had called her team there to tell them about their latest mission. It was a B-rank. Not bad, although Team 8 had done a few S-ranks before.

Hinata lifted a rock on a patch of grass beside the front door. Grasping the key that was put under it, she unlocked Kurenai's door and let herself in. She went into the living room and waited.

"Sensei? Are you there?" She heard several crashing sounds upstairs and Kurenai appeared in the doorway, Asuma right behind her. She looked quite shocked to see her favorite student in her house. Though her team were now chunin and almost equal to Kurenai, they still looked to her as the team leader, no questions asked.

"Oh, Hinata, what a surprise!" She said in an unusually high voice.

"Um...ohayo Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei."

"Er, Hinata, Asuma was here to borrow a cup of sugar, right Asuma?" Asuma nodded very quickly.

Hinata couldn't help noticing that the both of them seemed to be on edge.

She smiled as she watched her sensei shove an entire packet of sugar into his hands and usher him out the door, all the while blushing. When she came back she couldn't meet her student in the eyes.

Her shirt was also inside out.

"Um..okay Hinata, did you need to speak to me about something?" Kurenai made her blush disappear, and her expression was once again as serious as it usually was.

"Kurenai-sensei, yesterday you told all of us to come here because you needed to tell us about the next mission."

"Ah, yes. About that. How about we wait until the others come, then I'll tell you guys together."

Kurenai was already at the stove cooking pancakes. In no time at all she had a stack waiting on the table, covered by a cloth. They would wait for the rest of Team 8 before eating breakfast.

Suddenly there was a loud knocking at the door. When Hinata opened it Kiba and Akamaru burst in, actually managing to knock her over in their haste to meet Kurenai. As she lay there in the doorway wondering why things like that always happened to her, Shino appeared.

"Let me guess...Kiba and Akamaru again?" He asked as he helped her up.

"How did you know?" she sighed.

"You have a paw print on your chest." Hinata could tell he was hiding a smile under his hood and high collar. His dark glasses made it impossible to see his eyes.

"Are you serious?" It was Kurenai from in the other room. "And they want all the team leaders to come?"

Hinata and Shino walked swiftly into the kitchen where Kiba was talking urgently to Kurenai. Akamaru had a scroll in his mouth and was prodding the jonin in the foot with his wet nose. When she finally paid attention to him he pushed the scroll in her face. Kurenai's brow creased with worry as she read the contents.

"All right, I need to go somewhere right now. Help yourselves to the breakfast, and be very careful about where you go today. Do _not _leave the village either."

"Kurenai-sensei, what is..." Before Shino could finish his sentence Kurenai had ran out the door, leaving a trail of dust.

"Huh. No chance of catching her at this rate. She's too fast for us." Kiba remarked looking out the door. Then for the first time he noticed his teammates.

"Whoa, Hinata. You look as if you got run over by the Naras' deer herd. Oh, and nice tattoo." Hinata stared at him blankly. The paw print on her chest should have been a big clue as to what caused her to be in the state she was in.

"Speaking of the Naras, Kiba, didn't you promise Shikamaru you would help him run errands for the Hokage?" Shino cut in before Hinata could strangle her teammate.

"Oh shit, you're right! C'mon, Akamaru!" Shino pulled his female teammate to his side before she got run over again.

Shino sighed. "We're all meeting at Ichiraku's in a couple of hours. Want to go shopping for weapons supplies?"

"Yeah. I wonder why they need all the team leaders, though." Shino shrugged as they closed and locked Kurenai's door. She replaced the key under a rock and headed toward the weapon's store.

The only person they saw in there was none other than Uchiha Sasuke himself. He had come back after killing Orochimaru last year, and was only now getting solo missions again.

"H-hello Sasuke..." Hinata greeted politely.

"Hn."

"Y-you have a mission soon, right?"

"Hn."

"O-okay. I'll see you later..."

"Hn. Bye."

Shino smirked under his hood. "At least he said more than last time."

Hinata smiled. "Yeah. He's always been quiet, hasn't he?"

Later on they ran into Kiba, Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Oh! Oh! Hinata! You want to go to Ichiraku's, right? Shikamaru-no-baka wants to go somewhere expensive." Naruto was jumping up and down holding on to Hinata's arm. He was unusually hyper today...Still, she was happy that he now considered her his friend. Even though she got over him, they always hung out together.

"Hmph. What a drag," Said Shikamaru using his catchphrase. He yawned and scratched the back of his head lazily. "I said I wanted to go to a place more classy. Not that it matters since it's too troublesome to think of one."

"Damn. I can't handle the _both _of you at the same time," Kiba growled in a frustrated tone. Akamaru whined in agreement and scooted between Hinata's legs, managing to get her on his back.

"Aw, thank you so much Aka," she cooed, scratching him on the head.

"Oh, sure. She get's a ride. And the one doing all the work has to walk. Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered. Hinata batted him playfully on the head while trying to keep her seat on Akamaru.

When they got to Ichiraku's, the owner Teuchi brightened up as soon as he saw his best customer (you know who) coming. _Ah, a quick profit, _he thought cheerfully.

"How many bowls do you think Naruto's going to eat this time?" Hinata asked Shino.

"It depends on how much he orders. He never wastes a bowl," the bug master replied.

Hinata couldn't help agreeing when he ended up eating fifteen bowls of ramen. He almost swallowed his chopsticks once.

She picked half-heartedly at her food. Food didn't help much when one was feeling miserable.

The other four boys were arguing rather loudly about who was the hottest girl in Konoha. Actually, It was more like Naruto kept saying Sakura, Kiba was saying Ino, Shino said the argument was pointless and Shikamaru whined that all the girls (except Hinata and Tenten) were ugly and stupid and that he wanted to go home...

He soon got his wish when Sakura and Ino pulled up the curtains at their booth and glared at him.

"You think we're ugly!?" Ino shouted, shaking her fist. She was wearing iron kuckles.

_Poor Shikamaru, _Hinata thought pityingly.

Sakura pulled on her black gloves. She only ever wore them when fighting.

"SHANAROOO!!" she yelled.(I think in the English version she says Cha!)

Shikamaru drew blood on his finger and summoned a stag. "Get me away from these evil harlots,

fast!" The stag, seeing the vicious kunoichis ran off without letting Shikamaru on to his back. "You're on your own, boy," he said. "I can't carry your weight and expect to survive with all my limbs. Sorry!"

Shikamaru dumped more than enough money on the counter and ran as if the hounds of hell were after him. Which was kind of true if he was running from Ino and Sakura. "Damn beasts!"

Kiba watched them for a minute before turning back to Naruto. "What was I talking about again?"

"Dunno." Naruto dragged Shikmaru's bowl over and finished his ramen. "Can't let good food go to waste."

Hinata tried not to laugh at what she had just seen. This happened to Shikamaru every few days, so she should have been accustomed this by now, but it never failed to amuse her.

Naruto eyed her bowl of chicken ramen. Hinata gave in and shoved her bowl at him.

"I love you!" He shouted, getting food all over them.

Shino sighed and gave the rest of his ramen to Akamaru. _Seeing Naruto eat always ruins my appetite. _

The boys(minus Shikamaru) and Akamaru acted like gentlemen for once and escorted her home. It was already late at night, and the streetlights were on.

"Well, Hinata, your three,"Akamaru growled. "Four dates have to leave right now." Kiba smirked at his joke.

Akamaru stood on his hind legs and gave her a sloppy dog kiss. "I think that out of all my dates, Akamaru is my favorite." Hinata played along.

"Ouch, hear that guys? Outdone by a dog." They all left, waving good bye.

Hinata watched them for a moment then entered her apartment building. Being with her friends made her feel unafraid. Confidant, she fitted her key into the lock of her door and let herself in.

She was about to turn on the other light when she noticed something unusual. The bedroom window was open. _I must have forgotten to close it. _

Before she could do that, a muscular arm wrapped itself around her neck. Panicking, she screamed and struggled wildly until she felt the edge of a kunai being pressed against her neck.

Warm breath tickled her neck made the little hairs stand straight up. _Damn _she cursed to herself. She stifled a scream as she felt the hand around her neck slide down to stroke the inside of the her thighs. The kunai never left her throat the whole time. She couldn't resist letting out a cry when she felt something wet on her legs...

"Wh-what do you want?" she whispered to the stranger who had her in his grip.

The kunai pressed closer to her throat.

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Hey, this is Narutochica again. I haven't been allowed to update until my exams were done, so that's why I've been gone. I was having some writers block on Akatsuki's Sunshine, but I'm almost done on the next chapter. Anyway, it's nearly midnight and I need to rest up just in case my readers for that story want to hunt me down and beat the crap out of me. Frankly, I can't blame them.

If I get enough reviews for this, I'll continue it as a regular story. If not, I'll just make it a short five or six chapters. If a story sucks, I'll never discontinue it. I always find an ending for it. Thanks for supporting(and forgiving) me.

Your soon to be dead pal,

Narutochica. T.T


	2. Masterpiece

Don't own Naruto. I do own a Naruto key chain, though.

**Masterpiece**

Deidara slid himself into the apartment via a bedroom window. He had spent the entire day following the girl around. Hiding behind bushes, wearing horrible disguises that were too obvious; yes, he was that desperate. He ignored the kyuubi's container. He wasn't on any missions, so he found it unnecessary to kidnap him. Besides, he had better things to do.

He turned on the lights and looked around. _Un. Cozy-looking, but not very...artistic. _

He changed his mind very quickly when he walked into her living room. It was filled with several paintings and drawings. Deidara smiled to himself. Here was something he was familiar with. Taking his time, he looked closely at each figure, each sketch right down to the faint guide lines the mystery artist drew over.

"Yeah...very talented. But who drew these?" He murmured, hardly realizing he was voicing his thoughts aloud. He gazed for a long time at the largest painting, which was hanging on a wall above the tv. It was one of a sunset. After a closer inspection he realized the artist had painted the sunset right on the same spot he was standing on the evening before. The sunset he had seen there wasn't that remarkable, but the sunset this artist had seen must have been much nicer.

_This person actually set up an easel and canvas on top of the village gates just to paint the sunset? That is true dedication..._

He looked at the signature. _Hm...Hinata Hyuuga...a woman named Hinata painting a picture of a sunset...how ironic. Whoever this girl is, she had good sense in buying these pictures. Everything here was done by this Hinata woman._

He almost jumped at the sound of keys being pushed into a lock. Turning off the lights, he hid in a corner of her bedroom. _Shit...I left the window open..._

Just as that thought went through his head, he saw his 'masterpiece'(as he deemed her) walk slowly into the room and pause, staring at the window. A light she had turned on in the doorway threw enough light into the bedroom for him to see the look of confusion on her face.

Realizing she had noticed the open window, he picked up a kunai that was on the floor and grabbed her around the neck.. His heart beat sped up as she let a high-pitched scream and thrashed around in fear. As a reflex he held the kunai against her soft throat so carefully she hardly felt it. This must have worked, for she stopped struggling instantly. She quivered in his grip.

_Yes...she is a work of art..._

Deidara slid his hand slowly down her smooth thigh. His fingers made contact with the shuriken holster and unsnapped it, making it drop with a loud clack on the floor.

Now that he was graced with the honor of _touching _this masterpiece, he ran a finger along the curve of her leg. His palm-mouth almost automatically flicked it's wet tongue against her skin, as if tasting her.

The girl gasped, then shivered. "Wh-what do you want?"

In reply he pressed the kunai even closer into her neck. If he pushed a little more it would break through her delicate, slightly bruised skin. _A kunoichi..., _he thought, seeing an old wound.

He bent down close to her ear, keeping a firm grip on the kunai.

"I want to make you mine. Here and now, yeah."

"N-no..."her soft voice broke off in fear. Deidara smirked. She was the type of piece that he liked best. The kind that could be destroyed in an instant. The kind that deserved an explosive death of high proportions. Yes. If she was to die, he wanted her to die beautifully. And yet...

_Sasori-danna is right in this case...this piece of art should live and last forever...forever with me..._

He shoved her easily on to the bed, the mattress bouncing as she landed on it. She clutched the sheets and backed against the headboard, staring at him with big eyes that resembled purple moons.

The way she moved, her innocence...it reminded him of a doe. Especially those milky eyes...

He stepped closer to the bed, making her cower even more..

"N-no! D-don't hurt me..." she whimpered, hair falling over her eyes.

_She's...cute..._

It was hard for him to believe she was a ninja. The way she was now, she was more like a scared child. He pushed the hair out of her eyes. _Too beautiful to be hidden..._

"Tell me your name, yeah." His hand slipped down to caress her wet cheek.

"H-Hinata..." she said quietly. His eyes widened slightly. _So this is the mystery artist. _He felt a shiver of excitement run up his spine. Knowing she was the one who created such elegant artwork made him want her even more than before.

"Yeah...a name for a princess, eh?" He pulled the sheets out of her hands and flung them in a corner.

_Wouldn't be needing them right now..._

Smirking, he pinned her down under him. Her soft chest was crushed against his, and he could feel her rapid heartbeat. She struggled against him briefly, then fell limp.

As his eyes met with hers, he made a decision. _She's coming with me...whether she likes it or not..._

Her eyes flashed briefly. She smiled coyly, seeming to accept his advances.

Closing his eyes, he lowered his head to cover her lips in a passionate kiss...

...which never came.

Apparently, he had underestimated this 'masterpiece,' for the 'masterpiece' kneed him in the groin before their lips touched. Startled by the sudden pain he fell off the bed. _Damn...I let down my guard...art really is a bang...especially if it comes in the form of a woman..._

As he rolled around on the floor holding his crotch, Hinata grabbed her cell phone.

"Fool," she muttered glaring down at him. Before he could stop her she fled out the open window.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Who let the dogs out?_

_Who, who who who?_

_Who let the dogs out?_

"What on earth was that?" said Naruto as he walked alongside Shino and Kiba. Akamaru was padding slowly behind them, barking in tune to the song. It was still too early (in their opinion) to go home so they were on their way to Kiba's to play video games. And it was two in the morning.

Kiba grinned. "My ringtone." Naruto rolled his eyes while Kiba flipped open the phone. After about ten seconds he flipped it shut and threw himself on Akamaru's back. Akamaru winced at the sudden weight but kept quiet as Kiba shouted orders.

"Naruto! Shino! Go to the ANBU and tell them to go to Konoha's inner forest a.s.a.p. Hinata's spotted one of the Akatsuki and she's luring him there."

"Wha?" It took Naruto five seconds to fully register what he said.

"The forest, Akamaru. We need to catch up to her." Akamaru growled in reply and loped toward an entrance to the forest, his claws scraping against the cement.

Shino was already running to the Hokage's Tower, totally uncaring as to whether or not Naruto was with him.

He wasn't.

"Naruto! Didn't I tell you to go with Shino!?" The blonde ninja, who was riding beside him on a fox smaller than Akamaru grinned in determination.

"Hinata's my friend too. I don't care what you say, I'm going to help her! Believe It! " Kiba sighed, but didn't order him to leave. Naruto's skills, as well as his being the Kyuubi's container would come in handy at this point. Akamaru greeted the vixen with a more than welcoming bark.

"Rrr. Whatever. Has your little kitsune friend picked up Hinata's scent?"

Naruto asked the fox, and it shook it's head. Then it let out a short series of barks. Kiba was too distracted to listen to what it said.

"Kit says she doesn't have Hinata's scent. Kit also says that the logical thing would have been to go to Hinata's house first, and follow the scent from there."

"Then why didn't Kit say that in the first place?" Kiba gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Kit let out several more barks. Naruto stifled a laugh, and Kiba, pissed, counted to ten before he did something nasty.

"She says you never asked. She also says that Akamaru's cute and that you're a baka, and- "

"I understood what she said!" He snapped.

Akamaru yipped to the fox, then jerked his head to the right.

"You scent her? Good boy!" They changed direction and passed her apartment. Both dog and fox trotted at a slower pace, heads low to the ground; now that they had Hinata's scent they couldn't afford to lose it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata ran across the soft field of grass, not even daring to sneak a glance behind her. As soon as she got to street level, she had speed-dialed Kiba. She ran over the top of a slope and down again, hoping to get to the line of trees that marked the border between Konoha village and the forest. There were three sections of the forest. The part outside the village, the part within the village, and a large part that belonged to Shikamaru Nara's family for their deer. She was now near the village's inner property of forest land, but she was also close to the Naras' as well.

_I need to lure him away from the village...before he destroys it or something..._

It was hard to believe that the Akatsuki had fallen for her little act. Sure, she was still an extremely shy person, but she had no time for shyness when facing an enemy. Especially when he was an S-class criminal.

She took a risk and looked behind her. Nothing. She stopped running and waited. _I must not lose him...the ANBU will get here soon and arrest him._

Of course, she recognized the blond Akatsuki as soon as he opened his mouth. He was in the bingo book of S-class criminals. Deidara of Iwagakure. His most noticeable characteristics: A scope-like instrument on his left eye. Also has a tendency to say yeah at least once in every sentence.

That was pretty much all the book had said about him. She remembered reading about him a few years ago. In that edition of the book, Deidara's age was listed as sixteen. When she read that, she felt a pang of pity. Only sixteen, and he was already wanted for murders and the such, when he should have been having the best years of his life growing up as regular ninja child should. _I wonder what happened to him to make him as he is now? _What really disturbed her was that there were more S-class criminals that were younger than him.

No longer did she feel that pity. She remembered a mission earlier in the year in which her team, Asuma's and Gai's fought against some of the Akatsuki. There were three of them; Deidara, a red-haired one called Sasori, and another with a light blond hairdo that was combed backward. During the fight Deidara had gotten right in her face, a bomb in his hands. She had only one glimpse of his face as she stumbled backward to avoid his attack. She was barely able to escape the worst effects of the explosion that came afterwards, but it left her in the hospital for weeks.

Even now as she stroked the ugly burn mark left on her back, she felt as if it were happening all over again. If she was lucky, he wouldn't remember her and finish the job.

Hinata kept her eyes on the rise she had just come over. _I am no match against him...I will be killed if help doesn't come_. She shivered. It was a cold night in Konoha, and nighttime in Konoha always seemed scary to her. _Grow up! _She thought harshly to herself. She reminded herself that her job was to lead him away from the village, not act like a baby.

A speck appeared on top of the rise and came closer toward her. Activating her byakugan she saw him clearly in the moonlight. He was wearing the usual Akatsuki cloak, that she could see. The red clouds bled a clear mark in the night. His face was hidden by an old fashioned straw hat with strips of beige cloth and a bell hanging off the brim. Suddenly, he seemed to pick up speed, leaving Hinata about to turn around and run when a shadow stepped in between her and the oncoming Akatsuki.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" Shikamaru was standing in front of her, his fingers bent in the familiar handsign.

The Akatsuki had frozen in response to the jutsu. Though his face was hidden by the hat, she could sense his eyes burning into her. As if she was his only goal.

Shikamaru turned his head. "It looks like he wants only you at the moment. Keep running while I delay him. I sent help up ahead."

Hinata would have preferred to stay and fight with her friend but only nodded and did as he asked.

She continued running, keeping her byakugan on just in case there were more Akatsuki around. Stretching her byakugan's sight to two miles behind her, she saw Shikamaru's shadow begin to waver, then fade. The Akatsuki twitched, then ran right past Shikamaru. He was following her chakra waves, and he was fast. The forest now looked like a dark path with claws reaching out to grab her, though the "claws" were merely harmless tree branches.

Hinata willed herself to run faster than ever, even zig-zagging like a hare to confuse him. Every few minutes she would climb up a tree and head in a different direction, making it look as if her footsteps disappeared. It worked to a degree, but it wasn't enough. He was still too close. It had now been an hour since she left Shikamaru. Her legs were getting tired.

She snapped off the byakugan. If she kept watching him it would only be a distraction. She gathered more chakra to her legs and kept up her sprint. Panic overtook her as she heard new footsteps right behind her approaching at an incredible speed. Suddenly she was grabbed around the waist and found herself being carried by none other than Sasuke. She squirmed in his arms.

"S-Sasuke...what are you do-"

"Shut up. I want to meet this guy, and you're what I need. "

"B-but why? And why are you taking me?"

"If he's following you, he'll eventually come to us and I will be able to talk to him. Now shut up."

"But why-"

"Shut up!" He glared down at her with sharingan eyes.

So she did. _What a bastard...at least he's fast. But why does he need to speak to an Akatsuki?_

A few miles ahead of them she saw the giant wooden wall that surrounded Konoha village. Activating her byakugan she looked behind them to see if the Akatsuki was still pursuing them. He was. And he was gaining on them fast.

"S-Sasuke...he's about one mile away...and he's coming closer."

"Good. I want us to lure him farther away from the village. To a place where I can talk to him without interruption. And if he doesn't comply, we'll both fight him until the ANBU arrive."

Sasuke was miraculously speaking in full sentences. What ever he wanted to do, it was getting him excited.

They stayed quiet for a few more minutes, then Sasuke stopped in front of the wooden wall. It was about seventy-five feet tall, and Sasuke couldn't make the jump while holding Hinata. He put her down.

"Hinata, we need to use the tree-climbing technique."

He began running up the fence. Hinata followed him as fast as she could. She didn't want to lose him and be by herself. Sasuke waited for her at the top. On the horizon she could see a spray of purplish-blue light that stained the cloudy sky. _The sun's rising..._

"Jump down," Sasuke ordered. She didn't have a choice. Sasuke was the only one she had to help her. After a deep breath she jumped off the wall. She landed lightly, then heard a small 'thump' as Sasuke landed beside her. Then they set off running again, Sasuke leading the way. Hinata drew up next to him.

"Have any idea why he's after you?" She shook her head. Five minutes later they stopped at a bare hilltop. They had just left the trees. After a few minutes, the blonde Akatsuki stepped out from the line of trees they had come out of. He was still wearing his hat, and he didn't look the least bit tired.

As soon as he appeared Sasuke began to charge chakra into his left arm. Deidara stood at the foot of the hill and looked up at them.

"What's this, yeah?" Deidara asked. Hinata could only see one of his bright blue eyes through the strips of cloth on his hat. "Relax, kid. I only want Hinata."

"No." Sasuke answered. His hand began to glow with a blue light that resembled electricity. "I want you to tell me where Uchiha Itachi is."

Deidara's visible eye widened. "So you're one of that bastard offspring of the Uchiha clan? Itachi's brother, yeah?"

"Yeah,"Sasuke said sarcastically. "Tell me where he is or else I'll kill you..."

Deidara snorted derisively. "Un. I doubt that, yeah."

Sasuke clenched his fist to keep himself from attacking. "The ANBU Black Ops are going to be here in a little while. They will catch you. If you tell us where Itachi and the other Akatsuki are, they may not give you a harsh sentence."

Deidara didn't even consider it. "I don't think you are in a position to be offering proposals, yeah."

Deidara tossed his hat off, revealing long blond hair. Hinata gasped. She hadn't seen his face clearly when he surprised her in her room. He looked almost exactly the same as the picture in the bingo book, except he was four years older and had longer hair. This was definitely Deidara. She never forgot a face. He didn't look scary at all. In fact he had a rather nice face, but a pretty face doesn't mean a kind heart.

His lips curved into a smirk. "How about a little trade, yeah? I tell you where your idiotic brother is, and in return you hand over Hinata, hm?"

Hinata could almost see the wheels turning in Sasuke's head. He was considering it. Sasuke looked at her, his eyes full of determination. She could understand how he felt, but she also knew he would be doing the wrong thing if he agreed. Besides, Deidara was probably lying. Akatsuki, she knew, were loyal to each other.

Finally, after what felt like one hundred years he stepped in front of her and gave his answer:

"No."

"Good for you Sasuke!" Hinata craned her neck and saw Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Shino coming out from the shadows of the trees. It was Naruto who called out. They had waited in the shadows long enough to listen to his answer. Akamaru and Naruto's fox summon walked slowly up the slope and stood on either side of her and Sasuke to give them added protection.

Deidara turned his head to look at the ninjas behind him. Sasuke took that opportunity to charge at him, his chidori chirping wildly. The chidori hit the unsuspecting Akatsuki right in the stomach. Deidara froze, then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_Shit...if I had kept the sharingan activated I would have known it was a clone. _Sasuke snapped on his sharingan again.

"Look in all directions. He may be right under us," Shikamaru ordered. He was right; just as he said it Deidara's hand burst out of the earth and dragged Naruto underground.

"Earth Style! Groundhog Decapitation Technique, yeah!" (In the anime it's called the Headhunter Jutsu)

"Naruto!" Hinata shouted. When the dust cleared it revealed Naruto, his body underground up to his head. "Hey! Let me out!" Only his head was visible.

Hinata decided to take charge. "Aka! Kitty! Go dig him out!" The dog and fox followed her orders and set to work trying to free him. Sasuke went with them, determined to save his best friend. After a moment of hesitation she ran across to join them, fearing he would do to her what he had done to Naruto.

Suddenly, a small clay bird flew toward the ninja and broke in half. Instead of exploding, it released a greenish gas that left them coughing.

"It's making us drowsy. We need to end this fast before something even worse happens," Sasuke said in a low voice. _This guy likes to get things over with...this fight won't last long._

Deidara still wasn't visible. The others were on guard, Sasuke even charging up for another chidori. Hinata activated her byakugan and found him underground. He was fast; first he was in one spot, then he somehow teleported himself to another place underground. Her eyes widened in panic as she realized what he was up to.

"Everyone, come to me, near the trees! He's planting bombs underground. Shino! Use your bugs to get to him."

Deidara had made sure to plants the bombs where they couldn't hurt her. _But why is he after me? I'm not special in any way..._

The shinobi sprinted to where she was. All except...

"Naruto! Don't panic!" Akamaru and Kit still hadn't freed him, and they refused to leave him alone. Knowing she couldn't abandon him she went back to help him, Kiba beside her. Naruto was struggling, then with a determined lunge he scrambled out of the hard ground.

"Naruto, watch out!" Kiba yelled.

Just as he got free Deidara himself appeared behind Naruto and was about to stab him with a tachi when Shino's bugs swarmed all over him. Before they could eat away at his chakra he 'poofed' into smoke again. _Damn, _Hinata thought with frustration.

"I got him!" Shikamaru was facing the Akatsuki, his shadow winding itself up his legs.

_Got you..._

"Shikamaru don't!" Sasuke's warning came too late.

"Shadow Neck Bind Jutsu!" A shadowy arm reached up and grabbed Deidara by the neck. Deidara struggled, then fell limp as his neck was broken. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. "I was trying to say he was a clone, baka."

Shikamaru sighed. "I know his game. He's teasing us. His strategy is to tire us with his clones then move in for the kill. What a drag." He yawned. "And he knows Hinata can't fight right now."

"Forest of Death," Naruto muttered dryly. Sasuke nodded to him. _Of course...this is the same thing those clone guys were doing_ _to take our earth scroll...and Naruto forced them to reveal themselves with his kage bunshin...but can he pull it off with a low chakra level? _

Hinata looked wearily at her friends. They were all slower than usual, having been up all night with various tasks. With her byakugan she could tell their chakra levels were low. _And I have virtually no stamina left to convert into chakra...I used up most of it running. Not to mention that gas is messing with our systems. And all of us are tired...we will lose..._

Feeling faint she held her side and fell on her knees, coughing up blood.

A soft muzzle nosed at her cheek. It was Kit. "Kitty, it's fine," she whispered. Kiba put his hand protectively on her shoulder. "Hey...he's back."

The Akatsuki was standing thirty feet in front of them, the annoying smirk still plastered on his face.

"Tired, yeah? And we only started ten minutes ago."

"Shut up!" Naruto yelled, pissed. "Why do you want Hinata!? She's not a demon, so leave her alone!"

Deidara narrowed his eyes. "I believe that is none of your business."

Sasuke tried to start his chidori again. The only result was a huge flare of lightning in his hand that dwindled down to nothing within a few seconds.

"The gas is taking effect on your bodies. And it is too late for Aburame's bugs to break it down in your systems."

Shikamaru was crouched just behind Hinata, making hand signs. While Deidara was speaking a thin sliver of shadow glided along the ground and trapped the Akatsuki, immobilizing him. Shikamaru sighed weakly. This was the worst fight he had ever fought in his life.

Taking advantage of his helpless situation Naruto began a rasengan attack. An orb of blue light spun in his hand, the chakra inside it swirling around in different directions but otherwise forming a perfect circle. Using the kyuubi's energy he lunged at the blond Akatsuki.

Before it hit Deidara Shikamaru released his shadow possession so that he wouldn't be hurt as well. Just as the rasengan hit him, Deidara used the substitution jutsu to replace himself with a stump.

"Crap!" Naruto yelled in frustration. He kicked the log angrily.

"Hinata, stay here while Akamaru and I use Double Wolf Fang. Shino will take..." He turned around and noticed she was gone. "...care of you," he finished quietly.

Shino whirled around. "I thought _you _were watching her." Shino seldom looked angry, but it was easy to tell he was even if his face wasn't visible. They had all been distracted watching Naruto fight while Hinata was snatched from right under their noses.

"I see her," said Sasuke. He pointed. Just across from them, on the hilltop. Deidara was leaning against a tree smirking while one if his clones was holding Hinata in both arms. Hinata was struggling wildly to escape.

"Heh. That was pathetic, yeah." Hinata punched the clone, making it disappear.

_How dare he? What a cheeky bastard!_

While Deidara was talking to the other ninjas she drew back her fist. _I don't care...I know I will die...but I want to go down fighting as well..._

"Remember me?" she snarled in his face. His eyes widened. Before her punch hit him he blocked it with one hand. And it didn't seem like it took any effort on his part.

"It's no use, yeah..." he said in a gentle tone. "If you don't come with me I'll blow your friends up, yeah..."

"That won't work on me! I am _not _coming with you!"She screeched furiously.

It was then that she remembered. _I forgot about the bombs he planted underground... _

Turning her head to look at her friends she was horrified to see that they were all running toward them. And between them was the area where the bombs were placed.

All because they wanted to rescue her.

Ignoring the danger right under their feet.

"Don't,"she whispered._ They're coming for me..._

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Deidara threw her to the ground and started making hand signs.

_Damn...there's only one thing I can do... _Making the 'tiger' hand sign for extra speed she pushed herself up and raced toward her friends, ignoring Deidara's hand as he tried to stop her. _Whatever happens...I need to get to them first..._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_What have I done?_

The question repeated itself over and over again in Deidara's mind as he stared at the scene before him. Bare, ash-covered ground...smoke rising from nearby shrubbery on fire...a group of half-conscious Leaf shinobi crumpled helplessly on the ground...and a smoke-darkened sky.

But the one thing that was making the question repeat itself was right at his feet. She was barely alive, and breathing weakly with short, sharp gasps. He put on his hat and stared down at Hinata, hoping his expression wasn't visible.

One of the shinobi had crawled forward and was now cradling her in his arms, the red fang tattoos on his face barely visible under the dirt and tears. His chin rested on top of her head, and he looked as if he was never going to let her go. Another one with dark glasses was wiping her face with a cloth. He was holding hands with her, and whispering soothing words into her ear. A creme-colored dog limped over on three legs and lay down, watching the scene with mournful eyes.

The other Leaf ninja watched wearily but did not interfere. They hardly seemed to notice the Akatsuki standing over the grieving Team Eight.

"We'd all be dead if it weren't for her..." Kiba whispered through his sobbing.

At the last second Hinata had jumped in front of her teammates and shielded them with a wall of chakra, while she left herself completely exposed. The blast hit her head on, but the wall held for perhaps eight seconds before it faded, resulting in the other shinobi getting a much weaker impact than if the wall wasn't there.

The most serious injuries were Shikamaru's fractured arm, Akamaru's broken leg and Hinata's reduced consciousness. All the others were close to passing out. They could barely move.

"Mm." Shino just looked at Hinata's dirt-streaked face. The only thing that prevented him from losing control was the fact that she was still alive. Feeling dizzy all of a sudden, he fell on his side, breathing in ragged breaths. He still didn't let go of Hinata's hand.

Deidara stepped closer and took hold of Hinata. Her eyes flickered open a slit. Shino's gentle grip slipped away.

"No," said Kiba weakly. "You can't take her..." he protested even while she was pulled out of his arms. Shino had collapsed. The sleeping gas was taking it's toll on him. Akamaru whimpered.

Deidara held her bridal style. He glanced at Kiba and turned around, ignoring his pleas. He walked slowly toward a giant clay bird he had summoned. It was waiting at the top of the hill, it's huge wings folded along it's back.

Kiba, being very weak crawled after him on hands and knees. He was begging, and though it hurt his pride he knew that the important thing was to get his teammate back. _Hinata...I wanted to protect you..._

He tried once more. "Please...we need her. She'll be all alone if you take her away..."

As he expected, the Akatsuki still didn't listen to him. He flopped painfully on his stomach. Hinata's head and arms hung limply as if she was dead.

"Kiba!" Shino said sharply from where he was on the ground. "Leave her...we can't afford to get ourselves killed...just give it up!" Instead of making him angry, Kiba felt reassured by Shino's order.

Knowing Shino's way of facing problems, Kiba quit pleading and watched tensely as Deidara carried his friend up the slope, their dark silhouettes clashing with the vibrant orange of slowly rising sun.

He was looking down at her half-conscious form. Kiba couldn't tell whether the Akatsuki was feeling guilty or not, but he did sense an unknown emotion coming off him in waves.

His vision became more blurry as he was losing consciousness; he rubbed his eyes, wanting to say one last thing. Something he wished he had said a long time ago. All he could do was watch helplessly as Deidara hauled himself and Hinata onto the bird's back. Even when they became but a mere speck in the sky he watched, until his mind succumbed to a wave of darkness.

Akamaru relaxed when he saw his companion was sleeping peacefully. His ears pricked as he heard the quiet footsteps of the ANBU as they arrived. Yes; things would be all right after all.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata gave herself a tiny smile as she felt the buzzing of a different life pulsing just under her skin. That buzzing sound, the tickling feeling...it reassured her. _Yeah...they do face problems in different ways...and no matter what they stay with me, even in the smallest ways possible._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata: Deidara...pardon my French but I do hope you realize I'm going to kick your ass as soon as I recover...

Deidara: Un.

Hinata: And I also hope you realize Narutochica-san made me a lot tougher in this fic...

Deidara:Un.

Hinata: Which means I'm not going to take it easy on you like in the first one...

Deidara: Un.

Hinata: Is that all you can say?

Deidara: Un.

Hinata: Don't you ever say 'yeah' anymore?

Deidara: Yeah.

Hinata: Baka.

Deidara: Un.

Hinata: _sigh...looks like it's up to desperate measures now... _

Hinata: What kind of art style do you use? It looks kinda abstract...

Deidara: -perks up- ABSTRACT? Oh non, non, non, mon cherie. Tu es une fille stupide!

Ah! Imbecile! My current style is pop-art! Why, it is the exact opposite of abstract expressionism! It is art that has true meaning, art that appeals to all, art that-

Hinata: Since when do you speak French?

Deidara: I don't, yeah.

Hinata: Oh.

I'm sorry that the fighting scene sucked, but this fic focuses mostly on Deidara's relationship with Hinata. All I can say, Deidara is the one we should feel sorry for in later chapters. I made this Hinata tougher than the one in Akatsuki's Sunshine, but at the same time she won't have nearly as much techniques. Not much fighting will be in this fic. Oh, and I decided, by the overwhelming amount of reviews I got that I will definitely make this a regular fic. Sasuke also comes into the story a lot.

The next chapters for both stories will hopefully come out next week.

Thanks for reviewing; In fact thanks for even reading this. It makes me happy that people like my work.

Love you all, and peace.

Narutochica :3

Song:Who Let The Dogs Out

Artists: Baja Men


	3. Stirring Sensations

Hello, everyone, sorry for being late. This chapter is dedicated to Deidara. I love you, yeah!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the wonderful Kishimoto-san does.

**Stirring Sensations**

Deidara smoothed blond locks out of his eyes before glancing back at the unconscious kunoichi for what was perhaps the fifteenth time since they left Konoha.

She stirred weakly beneath the cloak he had thrown over her. Since they were flying at such a high altitude, he didn't want to take any chances and let her catch a cold. His own Akatsuki robe was draped carelessly over the clay bird's neck. Being used to the cold, he was clad in only a mesh shirt and black pants. The familiar hat, with the beige tassels hanging off the brim lay across his lap, one arm on it to prevent it from rolling off.

He frowned slightly at the sight of her bruised and battered body. _It's my fault she's like this...I tried to stop her but..._

Unable to look at the damage he had inflicted, he turned his gaze toward the horizon. They had been in flight for little more than an hour; he estimated that it would take another few hours until they landed in Kirigakure. He directed his bird to fly slower than usual. He didn't want to turn around and find that she had fallen off.

_And what about when we get there? I don't want Hidan or Itachi to see her...especially Hidan...he brings a new woman to the base once a week...and I don't want him to take my masterpiece away from me...yeah!_

Hinata had woken up and was eyeing the blond Akatsuki warily. His back was to her, so he didn't notice the dirty look she happened to be giving him.

_Damn...to be kidnaped by this fool of all people...it's embarrassing...and to make it worse I probably look like a complete wreck right now._

Not that she wasn't grateful she was still alive. Just before the blast hit her she managed to duck behind a large pile of dirt that Akamaru and Kitty made while digging Naruto out of a pit. It shielded her from most of the flying debris, but it didn't prevent the intense heat wave from hitting her. The heat had made her feel faint, which resulted in her weak condition.

And who's fault was this?

The blond fool's, of course. She wiped her face, arms and legs with the cloak that was on her. Though it was shaking, she propped herself up on one arm and called out to the Akatsuki.

"You there...hey!" He didn't notice her, naturally. _Hmph...it's because of my low voice..._

She sighed and turned her head to the side, spying a pointy piece of hardened clay that made up one of the bird's many tail feathers. _I'// just have to make him notice me...I may not be bold but I can act like I am..._

Deidara meanwhile was trying (and failing) to think up a good enough excuse for his leader as to why he should keep his masterpiece when he suddenly heard what sounded like a low voice calling to him. Thinking it was his imagination, he ignored it at first. Then, after a few seconds when he realized it might have been Hinata calling he turned to her just as she threw the pointy piece of clay at him.

**WHAM!**

_She's got good aim... _was his last thought as it struck him squarely in the forehead. _And a strong arm..._ he added as he blacked out.

Five minutes later...

Deidara opened his eyes to see a face hovering over his own. A female face. An _angry _female face.

_The face of an angel..._

"What is it, yeah?" He whispered, touching the tender spot on his head.

"I'm the one who should be asking questions. Why the hell did you kidnap me!?" she asked in a low, deadly voice.

He grinned up at her. _She looks pretty when she's angry...and she'll be beautiful when she smiles..._

"Art is a bang, un. And you are art, yeah." As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted saying them. _Shit...she's taking it the wrong way... _He saw her face turn red, as if she was blushing.

Hinata, using remarkable control forced the blush to disappear. _No time for shyness..._

"I...am a bang?" she asked in that same deadly voice. She pulled her fist back.

"Hime...I think you are taking it-"

"Pervert!" Before she could send it home Deidara blocked her punch with one hand and pinned her under him.

"You look cute from this angle, yeah..." she thrashed about under his strong arms. He couldn't help but relish the feel of her body against him as she struggled. His breathing quickened.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hissed in barely suppressed rage.

"I'm going to do what should've been done last night, yeah."Her eyes widened.

"Here? Now? On the bird?" Deidara's head snapped up. _Oh. Right. I forgot we were on this thing..._

"Er...no. When we get to my place, yeah."

"And what makes you think I'll just sit there and let you do it?"

"You'll enjoy it." _I'll have her begging for more..._

"Over my dead body. Do you think I _want _to be with an oversexed art fanatic who is also an S-class criminal?"_Wow... I'm going to be raped by a man who looks like woman...just my luck..._

"Yeah. But for now...let's just take it nice and slow, un?"

"What do you mean nice and...ah!" Deidara's hand had slipped under her shirt and was caressing her breast.

"Hm? What's wrong? Don't you enjoy this, yeah?" His other hand had pinned her wrists together over her head to prevent her from wriggling out of his grasp.

She didn't reply. Instead she closed her eyes in concentration, her entire body shaking.

Deidara frowned. He didn't want her looking away from him. He expertly kneaded her bud between two fingers to draw her attention. _Damn...she's so soft..._

"Not even a little moan, un?" Hinata was trembling from fear rather than pleasure.

_Is she all right? Maybe she's still hurt..._

"Hinata...are you-" Before he could get those words out her eyes snapped wide open, the second, inner pupil exposed as her byakugan forced it's way into activation. Whatever she was concentrating on, the effort must have been huge for sweat was pouring down her forehead.

Hinata managed a grim smile when she felt that her efforts were being rewarded. _Heh...I owe you one, Shino..._

"What are you..." His words died away as a black speck popped out of her face and crawled under her shirt. More and more appeared and followed the first one's example. He was so distracted by the appearance of the unknown black specks that he failed to notice that they were scuttling in the direction of his 'busy' hand.

The Akatsuki froze as he suddenly felt the muscles in his hand freeze up. He swiftly drew his hand out from under her shirt, eyes widened in shock at the sight of his arm.

It was completely covered in a mass of small, chirping black beetles. At once he released his grip on the young Hyuuga and frantically began to beat the insects off, uncaring as to whether or not he harmed them.

_I know about these beetles...Aburame's...they'll eat through my arm if I don't get them off..._

"No!" Hinata grabbed his arm, stilling his blows. "Don't kill them...please..." Deidara's eyes widened in confusion when he saw tears running down her face. "They're only protecting me..."

The surprised look in Deidara's eyes faded away only to be replaced by an expression of annoyance.

"Call them off. If you don't, I won't hesitate to kill them, yeah."Hinata looked directly at the beetles, relief etched on her face.

"P-please...thank you all for protecting me...c-come back now...Shino would be upset if any you got hurt..." The beetles all let out reluctant chirps but did as she asked and crawled up her arm and on her cheek. One by one they filed through the tiny hole they had chewed in her skin until they were all gone. She slid a finger across the cut and made it disappear.

Deidara's arm was now covered in dozens of insect bites. _He deserves it..._

_I can't risk anything happening to Shino's insects...he trusted me with them...I'll just have to defend myself from now on...if his beetles die, he may never forgive me..._

She turned her attention to Deidara, who avoided her gaze and looked out toward the horizon, an expression of intense frustration on his face. She herself felt frustrated. She had made herself look weak, _begging _an Akatsuki to not kill the beetles. But she knew she did the right thing. The bugs were like an extension of her teammate. She would treat them with the proper respect they deserved.

Deidara tried to distract himself by looking at the wide expanse of forest land below them, and the sea beyond. _Of course...Aburame was making the bugs bury themselves in her skin all the time he was holding her hand...that's why he let her go without resisting... _

He felt frustrated and annoyed that his 'plans' were ruined for the time being. If he didn't make her his, he would lose her to a random bloke with no appreciation for a flawless work of art.

"Why did you do that?" He turned around. The kunoichi was sitting up, legs crossed. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the fury that showed itself so clearly in her innocent ones. He didn't really see what the big deal was. And he told her so.

"I don't see why you're making a big deal out of it, un. Why didn't you just lie back and enjoy it? I thought all girls like it, yeah." _At least, I think I did it the right way..._

The fury on her face was immediately replaced by a serene, yet serious expression.

"A bastard like you knows nothing if you think that is what we like. Doing things like that causes pain that can never be healed..." _What am I saying? What would an Akatsuki know about pain, anyway?_

Deidara brushed her words aside with a shrug and resumed scanning the landscape. Behind him

he heard her shift position. He turned his head slightly to see that she was lying down on her side, her back facing him.

He sighed. Getting her to warm up to him was going to be harder than he thought.

Back in Konoha, five hours after Hinata's abduction...

"Old lady Tsunade! Open up!" Naruto yelled whilst banging on the emergency room doors with both fists. Several nurses glanced at him but thought twice before telling him to stop.

No one got on Naruto's bad side and survived. No one. Except...

Tsunade, a.k.a the 'old hag' threw open the giant E.R. double doors, oblivious to the fact that there was someone behind them "WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!?"She yelled, every vein in her neck visible as she towered over Naruto.(He had been knocked over by the force at which she opened the doors)

"WE ARE IN A HOSPITAL! I HAVE TO TELL YOU TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO SHUT UP AND TALK QUIETLY! WANT ME TO SEW YOUR MOUTH SHUT? HM?"

"Oh, sorry Obaa-san, I wasn't listening." Naruto reached in his pocket and turned down the volume on his Ipod. He yanked out his earphones.

"What were you saying?" Tsunade winced and gestured for him to get up.

Naruto stood up.

"Come closer,"said Tsunade in an eerily calm tone. Naruto did as she asked.

"Closer...I want to tell you something..." she repeated with a fake smile.

Naruto nervously stepped forward so Tsunade could whisper in his ear.

"Naruto...guess what?" she whispered.

"What?" Naruto asked back.

"Well honey, you see..." She leaned closer to his ear. "WE ARE IN A FRICKIN' HOSPITAL SO KEEP YOUR ABNORMALLY LARGE MOUTH CLOSED SO THE PATIENTS WON'T BE DISTURBED!"

"Yo! Lady!" shouted a male patient from a room further down the hall. "Shut the fuck up and stop yellin', you just jacked up my relaxation, yo!"

Her usually plump lips set in a thin, straight line, Tsunade walked down the hall and made a right, presumably in the direction of the patient who's relaxation was 'jacked up.'

There was silence, then there was a terrific noise similar to that of a fiery car crash. A few seconds later an IV went sliding across the polished floor, soon to be followed by a hospital bed with a terrified patient still in it.

Then there was the crash. Naruto heard it; who couldn't? A lone wheel from the hospital bed rolled around the corner and stopped in front of Naruto's feet.

It took them five tranquilizer darts, an elephant gun, and a tumbler of good, aged wine before Tsunade calmed down.

"Right," she said, sitting down at her desk. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?

"I want to know if Shino and Shikamaru are all right. Shino looked liked he was going to die..." Naruto's eyes, usually bright with joy and mischief were darkened with sadness and grief.

Tsunade sighed. _How am I going to break it to him? He's gone through enough heartbreak in his life..._

"Naruto..." she began slowly. "Shikamaru is fine. He managed to escape with only a fractured arm. As for Shino..."she found herself unable to speak.

"What about Shino?" They both turned around to see Kiba, Shikamaru and Sasuke walk uninvited into the room. Akamaru limped in slowly on three legs, his broken front leg held up by a sling around his neck. Kitty, a fox summon belonging to Naruto padded to his side, a large cone-shaped cast around her neck.

"Well?" It was Kiba who had asked the question. His eyes were swollen and tired from all the medicine he had been given.

Tsunade frowned but didn't scold them for their intrusion. "If it weren't for Shino, all of you would be dead right now." Six pairs of eyes widened in surprise.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Kiba asked, his mouth suddenly feeling dry.

"That gas the Akatsuki Deidara used...it not only makes one drowsy, but also makes the body's organs deteriorate in function." She took a sip of whiskey. "The fact is, Shino forced his kikai insects to infest all your bodies and break down the poison before it became harmful."

Kiba felt his heart stop for an instant. _No...oh no...don't tell me..._

"However, instead of keeping some of the bugs to break down the poisons in his own body, he ordered the rest of them to infest Hinata's body and stay there so that his other bugs could track the scent of the females."

_So most of the beetles in Hinata are female...so now the males that are with us could find her...Shino must have been planning ahead the entire time! _Kiba felt his shoulders sag. He knew what words would come next before Tsunade even said them.

"I deeply regret it, but...without the rest of his bugs to aid him, Shino _will _die..."_Shino's bugs know his body better than his father's...if the beetles with Hinata somehow return, he would have a chance at living..._

Kiba felt his legs buckle beneath him. Even though he already knew what she was going to say, it still left him stunned at first.

Akamaru let out a loud yelp as his brother began to collapse. Naruto and Sasuke quickly threw each of his arms around their shoulders and, under Tsunade's direction dragged him to an empty hospital room where he would be kept under observation.

As they lay him on the bed he suddenly sat straight up and pushed them aside.

"No." he said firmly. "Take me to Shino." Tsunade nodded. After making sure he could walk she led him to the same emergency room she had come out of earlier. She lay a sympathetic hand on his shoulder before pushing open the doors.

Kiba nearly broke down when he saw the scene before him. His friend...pale and unmoving on a hospital bed. Various tubes were leading in and out of his body. A heart rate monitor was beeping slowly, the green line in the middle of the screen making an indentation every few seconds.

He was wearing only his pants; the rest of his clothes had been removed. Even his trademark shades were lying neatly on a desk. He was sleeping peacefully, his chest barely rising and falling with every breath. Kurenai was already sitting by him. She was gently caressing Shino's hand, as if holding on to him would stop him from dying.

Sakura and Ino looked up from where they were trying to remove poison from his arms. Sakura went to Tsunade and whispered in her ear.

Kiba managed to catch the last few words. "...poison...too much to remove..."

Ino slipped an affectionate arm around his shoulders and guided him to seat next to Kurenai. Akamaru limped in and lay down by Kiba, who absentmindedly patted him on the head. He whined sadly.

Kiba managed a weak smile. "Don't fret, buddy. Bug boy will be all right. He's not that easy to get rid of, right?"

Akamaru gave a low bark. _I hope you're right..._

Kiba scratched behind his ears. "I know I am..."

By this time Deidara and his precious cargo had arrived at Kirigakure. He was once again wearing his Akatsuki robe, and the hat which obscured most of his face.

Deidara couldn't help admiring the ocean as the bird circled over the village in search of a place to land. He had made sure to cast a genjutsu over the bird to prevent people from seeing it.

He finally found what he was looking for; a dry patch of ground in a marsh. The bird descended slowly, sending gusts of wind across the wetland. As soon as it touched ground he carefully gathered his 'hime' into his arms lightly jumped off.

Fortunately for him Hinata was asleep, or else she would have been a handful. Though he was an impersonal man, he couldn't help but crack a true smile when he saw the peaceful expression on her face. Something within him stirred; he had no idea what, but it evoked a feeling he had never felt in all twenty years of his life.

Shaking it off, he ordered the clay bird to shrink and pocketed it. After wrapping Hinata in a warm cloak, he set off toward the village. They were both cloaked in an invisibility genjutsu, so they got past the guards without any trouble.

Making sure not to bump against any passers-by, he went down a side street and walked along a wall until he reached a large condominium. It was perhaps seven or eight stories tall. This building was similar in size and structure to the apartments commonly seen in Konoha, the exception being that Kirigakaure buildings had reeds and other water plants woven into the walls as a sort of decoration. Konohagakure, instead of using water plants had vines and ivy creeping up the sides of their buildings.

Deidara released the genjutsu, then went in through the double doors. He walked up the steps two at a time, all the way up to the top floor. Shifting his hime to his other arm, he dug a ring of keys out of his pocket and inserted one in a door labeled 8-A. The key stuck. After a few muffled curses and a frenzied jiggling of the keys, the door finally swung open.

Just as he stepped in Hinata woke up and immediately began thrashing around in his arms. He clamped a hand over her mouth to shut her up.

"Hime, do you think you can keep still, yeah? You don't want to reopen any wounds, un."

She began to struggle more wildly than ever. Deidara rolled his eyes but tried his best to stay patient.

"Hime...I don't want to do something that'll hurt you..."

She shot him a glare that said 'try me'.

Deidara sighed. "Come on, let's take you to your room, yeah."

Holding her firmly against his chest, he walked through his large penthouse until he stopped at a big, wooden door. When he opened it, Hinata was surprised to see that it was a spacious bedroom with wide windows and a four poster bed. Deidara dumped her rather roughly on the bed and at the same time took his hand off her mouth.

Big mistake.

As soon as he released her Hinata sat up and began screaming at him.

"You asshole! What the hell do you want from me? It's bad enough that you kidnap me in the first place, then feel me up, and what now? Huh? You wa-"

**SLAP!**

Hinata stopped yelling, stunned at the stinging slap he just dealt her.

Deidara stared coldly at her. "Do you know what? Right now you are starting to act like a pathetic little bitch. I cannot see why I even bothered with you in the first place, yeah."

Hinata, having recovered from the slap snorted. "Huh. I'm probably the nicest person you'll ever meet, and as for the pathetic little bitch part? I don't care. How could you expect me to be nice to you when all you've done is cause me nothing but pain?"

Deidara's eye narrowed. "It was your own fault for going back for your friends...I tried to stop you, un."

The kunoichi stared at him as if he were stupid. "You don't understand the kind of pain I'm talking about," she said in a low voice.

Hinata stood up to walk away when Deidara grabbed her arm and yanked her on to the bed. He forced under him. (ooh, original idea, Deidara)

"Didn't I make it clear to you that I am _not _going to do this?" Hinata asked in a scary voice. Inside, she was panicking. _Oh, shit...okay, what would Sakura-chan do at a time like this? _The word 'cha' came to mind. _Oh, yeah, that's it...she'd punch him out...but seeing as how I'm not on my back this time, that wouldn't work...and I do not want to use Shino's bugs either..._

"I already promised myself I would do this Hinata...and you'll love it," the Akatsuki answered confidently. _At least I hope she does...then maybe she'll love me..._

"If you scream, I'll kill you..."Deidara's voice sounded low and strained.

She held back an instinctive cry as she felt him pulling off her skirt. _Yes...mother always used to tell me...scream as loud as I possibly can if a stranger tries to hurt me...but how would screaming protect me?_

Deidara was anticipating the moment he and his masterpiece would be united in artful bliss when she let out a blood-curdling scream that snapped him right out of his fantasy. He stumbled off her and backed against the wall, eyes wide with shock. When she began to scream again, he screwed his eyes shut and covered his ears, she was so loud.

Hinata put her heart into it; though she was screaming, it was a way to vent her anger and sadness,

like releasing every woe she had kept bottled inside her ever since she born.

Deidara slid to the ground, feeling weak-kneed. Hearing her scream was like being pummeled to death with emotions he swore he would never experience again. Pain...suffering...he could hear it all too well in her voice. His heart was beating wildly, as if it would burst if he stayed there any longer.

Deidara crawled to the door, eyes still shut. He fumbled for the doorknob and slammed it shut, wanting to block out the sound any way he could. Leaning against the door, he let out a long breath and put his shaking hand over his heart. The empty penthouse did not help him in this situation. The scream leaked through the bottom of the door and echoed throughout the apartment.

"Just stop now...shut the fuck up, yeah." He whispered, hoping for his sake she would stop her incessant screaming.

A few seconds later her screams died down to a mere whimper, then nothing. When he heard her sobbing quietly he pushed himself off the floor and peeked in her room to see what she was doing. Hinata was lying the bed, her back to him. Her shoulders trembled with each shaky breath, and he could imagine the expression on her tear-streaked face; upset and lonely.

And knowing he was the cause of her sadness made him feel that stirring sensation in his heart again.

_I am an Akatsuki. I must never show my feelings. Ever._

He quietly shut and locked the door then left the apartment. By sheer force of will, he once again became the impersonal man he always was.

In the guest bedroom of the apartment, Hinata sat up wiped her face. It was the first time since her mother passed away that she cried.

"Stop being a crybaby...shinobi must never show their true feelings." She drew her knees up to her chin and stared out the window, hardly noticing the Akatsuki was gone.

_If you are feeling hurt, let it out. The pain is made worse if you lock it up inside you. Remember that. _And Hinata knew her mother's words were true as could be.

"Hai mother...I will."

FINISHED! Okay, well, that was only the third chapter...but anyway, I'm so glad I got it over with!

-slumps in recliner-

I'm banned from using my laptop but of course, that doesn't stop me. I still hide it under my pillow at nights.

I am also super-pissed because of the latest Naruto chapter. But I won't give it away.

The next chapter of Akatsuki's Sunshine is going to take a while, since I haven't started it yet.

(I'm sorry!)

I'm also sorry if I made Deidara mean in this story but frankly, he isn't exactly a sweetheart in the Naruto manga and anime, is he? I decided that in the beginning, he would be as evil as the manga Deidara.

Thanks so much for your reviews, and you all really deserve this update for waiting patiently. I'm surprised no one has given me a message saying "update, you bitch" or something like that.

Another thing is, I am not much of a lemon writer, so I hope you all realize I'm going to put off writing one until I can't avoid it. -senses bloodlust-

Once again, THANK YOU so much for reviewing, and I've also started on the next chapter so it should be out next week(that's Narutochica talk for week after next :3 since the other story has long chapters.) The war between our Hime and Deidara starts next chapter!

Your friend who is miraculously still alive,

Narutochica :3

Useless trivia: Hinata was tempted to push Deidara off the bird while he was knocked out(she threw a pointy chunk of clay at him) but decided against it when the thought occurred to her that the bird might stop flying and fall if he died.


	4. The War Has Begun

**The War Has Begun**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. And I hate this chapter. Sigh...

Hinata woke up little more than a day later. While staring at the clouds through the window, she had fallen into a deep and peaceful sleep. A sleep so peaceful, it was dreamless. As such, instead of waking up in a dreamlike state like most people do after having one, she was on alert. A quick look around the room told her that it was devoid of any life except her, and Shino's kikaichu.

Even now, as she found herself longing for company and maybe even something edible to take her mind off things, she couldn't help taking note of her surroundings.

Ever since she began to paint and draw as a hobby, she began to see the world in a whole new light. As a possessor of Byakugan, the All-seeing Evil Eye, she was gifted with the ability to instantly perceive the thoughts of friend and foe alike by merely looking at their eyes.

Yet, whenever she looked at things through the eyes of an artist she was able to _connect _with people on an emotional level. To know what a person craved, needed, by the poses he strikes, his facial expression; she gained that ability by the observation of any and all people she drew. Same with plants. If a certain type of plant was even a tiny bit out color, she knew immediately whether it needed water, sunlight, or the love of a caring gardener.

Needless to say, she took the opportunity to look at Deidara through the eyes of an artist. She did it every chance she got. Those precious hours of quiet observation led her to come to a conclusion on the needs of the blond Akatsuki.

Yes; what Deidara needed was a swift kick in the nuts. If he had any.

Honestly, he really made her nervous around him. And his extra mouths? Those things were just plain creepy.

_I would be a hypocrite if I thought things like that...my third eye probably isn't something to admire either..._

Since she was alone(except for the kikaichu) she took the liberty of exploring the "wonders" of the guest bedroom she was in. She didn't waste time trying to leave the room; she knew Deidara had locked and sealed the door before he left. Instead, she flicked on the light and curiously poked her nose in the closet, noting the lack of any feminine clothes.

The absence of women's clothing was enough for her to draw another conclusion; this Deidara had not been planning to kidnap her when he first came to Konoha. If he had, he no doubt would have made preparations, like buying clothes that were suited for her.

Sighing, she pulled out a black sweatshirt way too big for her and a pair of baggy shorts, probably belonging to the blond Akatsuki. Her clothes were dirty and torn; she tossed them off and tugged on Deidara's clothes. It was his fault her clothes were a mess, so she felt it was in her right to take _his _for the time being.

Feeling a dull ache in her shoulder, she pumped her arm up and down to loosen it. The burn mark that scarred a part of her shoulder was a constant pain. Still, it was a reminder that Deidara was the one who inflicted it in the first place. She didn't know whether or not it would disappear.

_It's my own fault for insisting that I leave the hospital a month early...If I had stayed, I would have been leaving next week...then none of this would have happened._

She was about to close the closet door when something shiny caught her eye. Picking it up, she saw that it was a can of blue paint. Eyes gleaming in hope, she reached into the corner and pulled out several more identical cans of paint; orange, brown, red, white, yellow...all the colors she needed.

_Now if only I had a canvas... _she thought.

Her wish was granted when she found an easel with a small canvas and brushes lying flat against the back wall. Arms full of the materials, she dumped them on the bed and resumed her exploration of the room.

Seeing a door she hadn't yet opened, she made her way over to it and peeked inside.

_Finally...a bathroom...I should have looked for it before changing... _Cursing her stupidity, she changed out of the clothes she had just put on and nervously stepped in the shower, noting an old tin bucket, a toolkit, and a long coil of rope in the corner.

An artist has observant eyes. And when particular objects catch an angry, revenge-seeking artist's eye, it can be certain that they will weasel their way into her battle plans. Even if it starts off as baby steps.

Our timid, shy Hyuuga had decided. Hinata was not going down without putting up a fight.

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Deidara opened his apartment door warily and peered inside, expecting to see the Hyuuga waiting to beat the crap out of him. Not that she could, but she had already succeeded in chasing him out of his own home. _That won't happen again..._

He had spent the entire night in a hotel, feeling unable to face the lavender-eyed kunoichi. And even now he couldn't help feeling a twinge of pity for her. But it was only a twinge.

His eyes widened when he heard the shower faucet in the guest room turn on. It sounded so loud in the spacious penthouse.

_Yes...another chance to make her mine...shall I? Or shall I not? _He debated to himself. The blond Akatsuki couldn't help grinning when he thought of how her face would look if she stepped out of the shower and saw him waiting on her bed.

He listened idly to the shower as he leaned against the wall, pondering on whether or not he should go through with his plans.

_If she's mine...she would accept me for who I am..._

He shook his head. He felt ashamed that even after all these years, he was still seeking acceptance. Pushing everything involving Hinata out of his mind, he shrugged off his cloak and ordered takeout.

He hardly noticed the shower shutting off.

Being in an organization such as the Akatsuki, it was difficult to keep any secrets from the other members. It is even more so if it was your turn to order dinner for the night. Whether he liked it or not, they would eventually find out about his masterpiece.

Hoping everything would go smoothly when they arrived, he entered his own room and flopped on the bed, not bothering to brush the wispy blond hair out of his eyes. The food would arrive in an hour, the other Akatsuki soon after...and hopefully a certain Hyuuga would keep quiet.

Of course, things could go wrong. And they did.

At the same time, Hinata was setting up the first phase of her plan. If she could make him hate her, he may just let her go. If he didn't kill her first.

Faintly she heard the doorbell ring. Ignoring it, she finished her work and went back to the window, where her easel and canvas was set up.

"Oh, hello again. Nice of you to have stayed for me,"she said politely to a light brown mourning dove on the windowsill.

Of course, it didn't say anything back. It merely cooed and sat still on a tree branch just outside the window. For the past half hour she had been doing a painting of it with the supplies she found in the closet. It was a decent model; it hardly moved the entire time she was painting it. As if it was used to doing this. She sat back down on the edge of the bed to continue painting. Painting really took her mind off things.

"I wonder if you're tame? At least I have one friend here."Just under her skin she heard the kikai insects chirp indignantly. "I'm sorry! Of course you guys are my friends too!" The kikai calmed down.

_I can't believe it...I'm so desperate to talk to someone that I start talking to animals! And they can't talk back much either! _

She heard footsteps approaching the door. The same door that had a metal bucket filled to the brim with water hanging above it by a thin rope. The same rope that ran along the ceiling via various nails, bolts, and pulleys.

And Hinata, was, literally, at the end of the rope.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

An unsuspecting Deidara paid for the takeout, then dumped it on the kitchen counter. He decided to check on his hime. She was _too _quiet for his liking.

As silently as he could, he opened her door and peered in, oblivious to the large bucket above his head.

"Yes?" she murmured in an unusually quiet voice. She barely turned her head to look at him.

Deidara craned his head slightly to look at the easel, and his own pet dove that was sitting beyond it.

"What are you doing, yeah?"

"I would assume that it is quite obvious I am painting a portrait of this mourning dove here,"she said in the same tone. She swept a hand toward the bird as if proving a point.

Deidara narrowed his eyes, infuriated that a kunoichi with barely half his strength was talking down to him. He didn't notice the rope hanging from the ceiling just next to her head. He had eyes for her only.

"Hinata...I would watch what I say if I were you."

She snorted derisively. "And what if I don't?"

In response the Akatsuki banged on the door and took a threatening step toward her at precisely the same second she yanked on the rope.

Deidara's expression was priceless as gallon upon gallon of water was dumped on his head. To make matters worse, the rope snapped and the bucket fell with an audible CLANK on his head.

_Damn she's feisty...yeah... _Deidara thought with mixed admiration and hatred as he once again slipped into unconsciousness. Luckily, his gravity-defying hairdo prevented him from getting a concussion.

Hinata glared down at him for a few seconds before pulling the rest of the rope into her arms. Her father hadn't beaten courage into her for nothing.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_Uh...what happened? I was only checking on my hime when...WAIT! My Hime! Where is she!? _Deidara's eyes snapped open, squinting slightly to focus his vision.

To his relief she was sitting on the windowsill, the dove cooing contentedly on her lap. It was gazing at the painting she had done of it, twisting it's head sideways to scrutinize it with one eye. _She _was watching him with cool lavender eyes.

The Akatsuki had a sudden urge to paint the scene in front of him. It was when he tried to stand up that he realized that he bound on a chair, the rope tied securely around his chest, arms, and legs.

His lip curled up in his trademark smirk. _So...my beauty only wants to make this hard for herself, eh? Sorry hime...the more you resist, the more I want you...hell yeah..._

Deidara settled himself more comfortably in the chair and grinned. He decided to play along, at least until the other Akatsuki came. He could slip out of his binds easily, so had nothing to fear.

"So, my little Princess...what was your motive for tying me like this, yeah? You into bondage?"

A slightly confused look crossed her innocent face at the word "bondage", but she recovered quickly.

"No," she said in that low voice. "Rather, I want to make some things clear. First of all, and I think you already know this, I am the heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. That alone means you will be in deep trouble if Konoha finds me."Deidara nodded, noticing for the first time she was wearing his clothes. _Hm...my sweatshirt does look nice on her...so do the pants...but then, they're too small for me..._

He sniffed loudly as a fly landed on his nose, taking advantage of his helplessness to sit there in comfort. _Mean fly...yeah... _He pulled up his bottom lip and tried blowing on his nose. The fly didn't move.

"And I still have no idea why I'm here-" She kept talking in her quiet, sweet voice.

_Wow...is this her real voice? She's not as...loud...as she was before...I like it. And the heiress daughter of old man Hiashi...makes no difference in my opinion, so why is she telling me this? Hmm...guess I have to listen to her...or at least pretend to. I know! I'll just nod every few seconds so it looks like I'm listening...then, when she least expects it I'll pounce on her... _And so, the artistic Akatsuki did.

"- which leads to the next thing I need to say." Hinata stopped and stared at the blond, who was looking at her with a dumb, almost cute expression. He began to nod (rather stupidly) to her, indicating that he was listening. Satisfied, the kunoichi pulled out a chart and tacked it carefully to the easel.

"I took the liberty of using some of your posterboard to draw a few charts. This first chart..." She pointed to it with a paint brush. "explains what I would like you to do if you are in the same room as me." Deidara nodded, hoping he could keep up his facade.

The chart showed a crudely drawn stick figure of him (drawn with a high ponytail and a big mouth) standing next to a nicely drawn figure of herself. Or, rather, they were far apart. Hinata had marked that Deidara always stay at least six feet away from her. And no touching. Definitely no touching. She took this chart off and put up another one. Deidara kept nodding.

"Now this chart shows what will happen if you _do _touch me." She pointed to a picture of a grave, the name 'Deidara' marked clearly on it. Beneath his name she had written 'a cocky blond fool'.

Deidara kept nodding. _Even for sketches, she puts in detail...I wonder when she'll notice I'm not listening?_

"Will you let me go back to Konoha?" Hinata asked innocently.

Deidara, being an idiot nodded and hummed without thinking. Hinata sighed.

"You're not listening to me are you?"_Baka..._

"Nope!" He grinned saucily at her. He flexed his muscles and broke easily through the rope. She didn't flinch as he came to stand over her, still wearing that mocking smirk.

"You are such a stupid kunoichi, yeah."

"I know you are."She replied. _Even she thinks I look like a woman...or is she thinking...?_

Deidara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you suggesting that I'm gay, yeah?"

Hinata gave him a serious look. "No, I wasn't suggesting that at all. What's wrong with being gay? But due to the fact you have rather feminine features, I would conclude that you are a woman. Therefore, Blondie, if you are homosexual, then I think the proper term to call one such as yourself is 'lesbian'."

In a flash Deidara was right in her face. "Want me to _break _you, Hime? You act like a spoiled little bitch. Typical of a heiress." _Huh...he forgot to say 'yeah'._

Hinata stepped closer so her nose was barely an inch away from his. "You couldn't be farther from the truth! But then, a missing-nin like you wouldn't understand! Just go look at your stupid art or something! You make me sick!"

Deidara's eyes widened at the words "stupid art" and "make me sick". Before he could stop himself he had already punched her in the eye, harder than he had ever hit anyone before. He stood there looking at his clenched fist, shocked by his own actions. _Oh no...I ruined her..._

Hinata stumbled back, covering her damaged eye. Then, in a fit of anger she grabbed the blond Akatsuki by his collar and dealt him a heavy blow in the nose. She grinned in satisfaction when she felt it break under her fist. To her horror it began to heal the second after she struck.

The force of her impact sent them both crashing to the floor, Deidara on top. She rolled over and tried to scramble out from under him. Sadly for her, Deidara had other plans. With a wild lunge

he pulled her against his chest with one hand, while unzipping her sweatshirt with the other.

The dove flew out the window, cooing loudly.

"L-let go of me!" She turned her head slightly to look at him with wide eyes, nearly forgetting that he was undoing the front clasps on her bra when she saw his face.

His eyes were full of lust, hatred, and determination. The black lining around them glowed an unusual purple chakra. _That color chakra...what is he?_

Seeing so many mixed emotions on his face made her know what he needed. But he was doing it the wrong way. _Kami...someone help me...I can't handle this... _

She screwed her eyes shut as he painfully ground their hips together, completely disregarding her protests. The last straw came when _she _let out a loud, uncharacteristic moan of pleasure, totally catching them both off guard.

Taking advantage of Deidara's distraction she threw herself backward, which resulted in Deidara being shoved roughly against the bed. As soon he let go of her she bolted out the room as fast as she could, clutching the sweatshirt to her chest.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Sasori dragged himself up the stairs, pissed that once again his wayward partner was acting the fool again.

_I should have killed the brat the second he joined Akatsuki...now I have to keep him out of trouble again...he should know by now I'm not a patient man...and now his dove comes to me, AGAIN with some cock and bull story about him and a Hyuuga...hmph._

Grumbling to himself, the miserable Akatsuki arrived on the landing. He was just about to knock on the door when it flew open and a young, wide-eyed woman with lavender eyes crashed right into him, knocking them both over so they lay in a tangled heap on the floor.

"_Hyuuga..._" he hissed, more to himself than to the struggling woman on top of him.

Deidara suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking ruffled.

"Um...Sasori-danna.."

"Not. Another. Word." The puppet master ground out between clenched teeth.

Poor Sasori.

The situation got even worse when Tobi skipped up the stairs and froze, seeing the rather awkward position the red head was in.

"Ooh, Sasori-sempai! Why are you in a dirty position? Are you two doing the nasty, because from this angle..."

Sasori sighed. _You see what I have to go through every day?_

Deidara bent down and picked up the stunned Hinata, wincing when she furiously sank her teeth into his arm as he covered her mouth with it. _I guess I deserve that...mm...doesn't hurt much..._

As if reading his mind, she bit down much harder than before, making tears come to his eyes.

"Deidara-sempai, why are you crying?"

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Two minutes later, after Hinata nearly bites off Deidara's arm and locks herself in her room...

"Hinata, please open up...un."

"No! G-go away! Y-you totally ignored what I said! I-I even showed you charts! You're _not _supposed to touch me!"

Silence. Then...

"I'm very sorry...do you forgive me,un?" Behind him he heard Tobi snicker.

"No." Tobi collapsed into hysterics, only stopping when Sasori dealt him a swift kick in the ribs.

"Hime...at least come out...you haven't eaten all day..." _And yesterday, _he added to himself, ashamed that he had neglected to at least feed her. _She's probably crying right now..._

"C-clear off, will you? And I'm _not _your hime!"

"Hime...I don't want you to starve, un. Please?" He pleaded, wanting to at least _see _her.

With a resigned sigh she opened the door. Though she wasn't hungry, she knew he would pester her forever if she didn't do something. Deidara's look of worry turned to relief when he saw that she hadn't been crying at all.

The red head turned to her. "And who is this young lady?" he asked, expecting an answer.

"Ooh! Deidara-Sempai! Is this your girlfriend? Is it? Is it? She's adorable! Can I talk to her!?" These words came from a young man dressed in the usual Akatsuki attire. The one thing that made him different was the fact that he wore an orange and green mask with a swirling pattern. It had only a right eye hole. He was slightly taller than Deidara.

"Tobi, shut up, yeah..." Deidara mumbled. He couldn't bear to look at her now. Tobi ignored him and bounded happily over to Hinata.

"Hello! My name is Tobi, and I'm a good boy! Tobi likes you, Miss. Do you like meeting Tobi?" Hinata looked up at him stupidly. This was actually a nice Akatsuki. She smiled shyly at him, forgetting that she had a black eye. _He acts so cute..._

"Y-yes Tobi, I am very happy to have met you." Tobi hugged her and ran out of the room, shouting "Tobi has a new friend today! And she hates Deidara-sempai!" Deidara got up and followed after him, barely shooting her an almost guilty glance. Hinata stood there, stunned at the warm hug he had given her.

_I was told all Akatsuki were bloodthirsty monsters...yet this one called me his friend...I wonder if there are more like him?_

The red head, who she now recognized as Sasori, a missing-nin from Sunagakure, frowned down at her.

"Come to the living room. I think we all have to be introduced properly." He offered a hand to her and gently led her to the living room.

As soon as she walked in a silver-haired man with pale magenta eyes glanced casually at her. _I know this guy...I fought against him, Deidara and Sasori with Team Gai earlier this year...Hidan... _

"Who the hell is she?" She narrowed her good eye at him. She sat down next to Deidara on the couch.

"Apparently,"she pointed to Deidara who was looking away from her. "This one over here thinks I'm his hime." She glanced at the three-bladed scythe that was currently leaning against the wall, where he could easily reach it.

Hidan's eyes widened. "Yes...I remember you...no one can forget those eyes...I thought little Deidara here blew you up." His mocking eyes swept over Deidara as he reached forward and pressed a hand over her eye. Hinata flinched, but stayed still. She nearly jumped when she felt healingchakra wash soothingly over her damaged eye.

"Hm. We fought her before?" Sasori asked as he checked Deidara's nose. _Huh...Hidan has a good memory...yet how come he always forgets to join us on karaoke night?_

"Yeah. In February. I was distracting her and the other Hyuuga while Blondie crept behind them and set off a bomb. Didn't know you survived, though." He stepped back and surveyed his work.

Deidara crossed his arms shifted slightly away from her, fury evident on his features.

"Neji survived too. He didn't get a scratch on him," she said with a hint of pride for her older cousin.

"What about you?" asked Sasori, leaning back on the couch. "Were you seriously injured?"

Hinata looked away instead of answering. Her silence told everyone in the room that it was a 'yes'.

"Where?" Hidan asked curiously.

Deidara looked at her, frowning. _Weird...I don't remember ever seeing her before...but I hurt her? Hm...I'll check my scope later. I think I recorded the battle on it. I wonder how much she got hurt?_

"I prefer not to say."She stood up and turned to go back to her room.

"So," said a low voice from right behind her. "What are you doing here?" She jumped and bumped against something hard. _A metal breastplate...?_

Hinata froze and looked up, her soft lavender eyes meeting with Uchiha Itachi's hard black ones.

_Oh. Shit._

_&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_

Sasuke burst into the Hokage's office, breathing in short breaths.

Tsunade glanced up and frowned. "Uchiha, I do not appreciate you coming in like that," she scolded gently.

Sasuke ignored her words and stood in front of her, palms firmly planted on top of her desk.

"Give me a new mission."

Tsunade shoved her paperwork to a remote corner of her desk and folded her arms.

"You are already assigned for a mission in Suna. And an A-rank at that. Are you not satisfied?"

The younger Uchiha narrowed his eyes. "I want to go rescue Hinata from the Akatsuki."

"No. I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Tsunade leaned forward. "You will lose it and rush in blindly-like last time- to kill Itachi. And I ended up healing you after you were bedridden for over a week."

Sasuke's sharingan blazed a bloody red. "Are you suggesting I'm doing this only to kill Itachi and not for Hinata's sake? It's..for a different reason." His sharingan snapped off, leaving his eyes black and emotionless. "It's my fault Hinata's gone in the first place."

"Uchiha, explain this." Sasuke nodded. Tsunade was the only person he could confide in. The Sannin had always treated him with respect, even when everyone else doubted his loyalty.

"I led her far away from the village so I could talk to the Akatsuki and find out where Itachi is. If I had just stayed and helped her fight him...the ANBU would have arrived a lot faster."

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, but think about what would have happened if you hadn't done that." She smiled sadly. "If you kept her close to the village, he could have destroyed it. Hinata getting kidnaped was the safest thing that could have happened in the village, given this situation."

_That poor girl...this may not have happened if she had read Saturday's newspaper...she would have known about the Akatsuki sightings, and been better prepared..._

"Hn. So will you give me this mission?"Sasuke's eyes were pleading and determined. As if he wanted to correct all that he had done wrong in the last five years.

"Sasuke...you want to atone for your mistakes...am I not correct?" He shifted uncomfortably when she said his name.

"Yeah."

"Very well then. I want you to go on a solo mission to find the Akatsuki hideout."

Sasuke nodded. "And when do I leave?"

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "The mission starts tomorrow. You are dismissed."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata looked up at Itachi, eyes wide with fear. "Uh..."

Itachi looked down at her with slightly bored eyes. "Hn. Little Hinata-chan, all grown up."

"..." He was dressed in some sort of armor, similar to the kind that Konoha ANBU wore. _Maybe the other Akatsuki wear armor under their robes too...it's possible..._

"I hope we're still not engaged."

Hinata shook her head nervously. "N-no Itachi...kun. F-father...rewrote...my engagement..."_Doesn't mean I'll go through with it..._

"Good."

Deidara watched the little exchange between them, barely hiding the look of surprise etched across his face.

A hundred thoughts were flitting around in his head like bats in a cave.

_She knows him?_

_He knows her?_

_They were engaged?_

_Hinata-_chan?

_Itachi-_kun?

_She speaks as if she fears and respects him...this is very different from the rude, obnoxious bitch she was before...but then, Itachi probably never attempted to...make her his before..._

Hearing the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door, Hinata turned to see the towering figure of Kisame Hoshigaki. The shark man was a missing-nin from Kirigakure, the very village they were in.

"So when are we going to eat?" He asked bluntly. Then he glanced at the kunoichi for the first time.

"Oh. Hi there." He politely extended a hand. "Kisame Hoshigaki."

She stiffly shook it. "H-Hinata Hyuuga."

"Er...let's just eat now, yeah..." Deidara blurted out, hopping up from his seat and dragging Hinata behind him to a chair at the round dining room table

Faster than the speed of light Hidan took the chair to the right of her, while Tobi sat on her other side. Itachi sat right across from her(dammit) while Kisame sat on his left. Sasori and Deidara got in chairs on Itachi's right.

Nobody spoke. Then...

"Tobi wants to know what's for dinner. Tobi thinks Hinata-chan is very hungry."

That broke the ice. The dining room table came to life, and suddenly everyone was reaching for food and dueling for choice pieces of chicken. Deidara passed her ramen and she silently nodded thanks.

For the first time since she woke up that afternoon, her stomach grumbled.

"Hinata-chan is very hungry," Tobi observed.

"Yes...I guess I am, ne?" She replied politely as he lifted the bottom of his mask to take a bite.

"So, Hinata..." Hidan purred. "What are you doing in Deidara's humble abode?"

"Um..."

"She's with me." Deidara broke in. He shot Hinata a pleading glance that indicated she go along with his charade.

She just glared dully back at him.

"Oh really?" Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Hinata-chan. Kiss him."

"Huh?" _Damn damn damn damn damn...he was always daring me to do stupid things when we were younger...evil teme! _

"Go on. I thought you were his hime. You won't give your boyfriend a real kiss then?"He cocked an eyebrow.

"U-um..."

"Hime...please come with me a sec."Deidara beckoned to her.

Shooting him an angry glance, she followed him into the living room.

"Deidara I am _not-_"

"Please, Hinata. They may kill you if they think I'm lying. Just this once, un."

"But..."

"Ssh...they're all looking at us through the doorway, un. Please?"

"..."

"I won't...hurt you." _At least I hope I don't..._

"Whatever."

Conscious of several pairs of eyes watching him, he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist.

At her sudden hiss of annoyance he bent his head down.

"Wrap your arms around my neck, un." He whispered silently in her ear.

"You will live to regret this," she responded while doing as he asked. She tipped her head up and looked into his unusual blue eyes. For the first time, she noticed his each of his eyes had two different colored irises. One iris was black while the other, which surrounded it was a brilliant electric blue.

The other Akatsuki watched in anticipation.

"You really think they're gonna do it?" Tobi elbowed Kisame playfully.

"Tch. Dunno. I should've brought a camera, though. She looks like she's gonna murder him!"

Hidan watched with resentful, yet curious eyes while Sasori and Itachi looked on with emotionless faces.

Deidara hesitantly brought his lips down on hers, praying she wouldn't push him away. When their lips touched, he instinctively tensed, waiting for the oncoming slap...which never came.

Opening his eyes just a slit, he relaxed when he saw that her eyes were closed. He immediately shut them again. He was so captured by the feeling of her warm, soft lips pressed against his own that he forgot where he was for a moment, and slowly slid one of his hands up to rest firmly against her back.

Hinata stiffened when his fingers brushed against the scar. _I hope he doesn't try to push his tongue in...that's where I draw the line... _She was so lost in her thoughts that she never noticed the way her thumb was slowly stroking the nape of his neck.

Deidara nearly jumped out of his skin when he realized how far she was allowing him to go with her. He panicked. _Oh shit...what do I do? I want to do more than just this...Kami...I didn't know trying to make a girl mine involves these...feelings... _He suppressed a moan when she began to stroke the back of his neck.

Before he could stop himself he had shifted his other hand so he could bury his fingers in her midnight-blue hair and pull her closer to deepen the kiss. He felt her shudder at the unexpected touch.

_Damn...now I'm gonna scare her away... _Instead of pulling away, she did just the opposite and slowly stood on tiptoe to kiss him more firmly before unwrapping her arms from his neck. She ignored the group of spying men as she passed them and stiffly sat down at the table, where she promptly began eating her ramen again.

Deidara stood there, staring at the spot where she had been standing a few seconds before. He too ignored the questioning stares of his colleagues and went back to his place at the table. Hinata looked up from her food long enough to give the blond Akatsuki a scathing glare. He only responded with aiming a small, mischievous smirk in her direction. She furiously looked away, a barely noticeable blush on her face.

Now that he had only a small taste of her, he wanted more. He relished the fact that his hime didn't know what was coming next. _It's official, Hime...I'm not leaving you alone...I will win you over...even if it kills me..._

Dinner was more or less quiet for the rest of the evening. Deidara made sure to keep a close eye on Hidan and Itachi, who were sitting way too close to her for his comfort. He didn't mind Tobi. The hyperactive Akatsuki was speaking very sweetly to her, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw how much happier she looked just by talking to him.

He made a mental note to call Tobi over to keep her company when he was away. He trusted him. At this point, he considered the other Akatsuki rivals for her affection. _I don't know...if I can ever have my love taken away from me again..._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Late that night, after the Akatsuki left Hinata snuck silently out of her room, taking care to make sure the blond Akatsuki was still in the shower. Smiling to herself, she opened his bedroom door and tiptoed into the bathroom. She had already made some preparations an hour before, so she was pretty confident.

She could just see his_ entire_ outline through the shower curtain _very _clearly. (ladies and gentleman, I think you know what I mean) Hiding her blush, she went quickly to the toilet and glanced quickly at Deidara's silhouette. _Sorry, Deidara, but you so owe me for that kiss..._

With that thought in mind, she quickly flushed the toilet.

Deidara's loud, agonized yell was sweet, sweet music to her ears as cold water came pouring out of the faucet onto his bare skin. The towel that was hung over the top of the curtain swiftly disappeared as it's owner yanked it down, and a few seconds later the curtain was pulled open to reveal a wet, _angry _Deidara, the towel very close to slipping off his narrow hips.

His eyes widened when he saw his hime standing calmly in the doorway, wearing only a very long shirt that belonged to him. _Damn...she looks hot even when she's wearing my clothes...I wanna _

Before he could finish his dirty thought, Hinata spoke, her voice laced with challenge.

"Burn, Deidara! If you think you can just kiss me on a whim, you've got another thing coming. I _will _make your life a living hell unless you release me. Good night." With that the kunoichi walked out of the room, head high with dignity.

Deidara snorted. She would have to do her worst if she wanted to get rid of him.

_What a pathetic, grade-school sort of prank...she needs to do things with class, yeah..._

Drying his hair, the blond walked out of the bathroom, too busy gloating in his head to notice the mysterious trip wire on the floor that hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

Hinata smiled coyly in her bed, hearing the loud thud as Deidara crashed to the floor, cursing profusely. _And the best part hasn't even started yet..._

_Damn...Hime can certainly do better than that, though...hmph... _He sprawled on the floor, furious that he had just been fooled by the most basic trick in the book.

He froze, seeing a suspicious-looking piece of paper flutter from the ceiling to the floor. Confused, he looked up at the ceiling just in time to see a broken net and a dozen of the same papers fluttering to the floor all around him.

_What the-_

"Burn," Hinata whispered.

The sudden explosion that followed resulted in the entire apartment being covered in billowing clouds of black smoke. Hinata glanced at the smoke detector as she closed the door, making sure the smoke didn't waft in her room. For the third installment of her prank, she wanted Deidara to suffer alone.

Deidara coughed and pushed himself wearily up from the floor, beating the smoke away from his face. _That damn little bitch...I underestimated her...smoke bombs...of all things...I gonna fuck her up so hard she'll...shit, I'm, gonna need another shower now... _

He sighed, coughing even more when he breathed in. _Fuck it all...at least it can't get any worse, right?_

That's when the water sprinklers went off.

_Ah, yes... _Hinata thought as he let out a loud, long enraged yell of utmost fury. _The sound of revenge is sweet, is it not? _Smiling, the artist fell asleep, dreaming of new ways to make the blond miserable.

_Yes, my Hime...if this is how you do things...two can play your game..._Deidara thought as he stomped toward her room, a dozen clay birds and a full fire extinguisher in his hands.

Some people never learn. Sigh...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Wow. Nothing much to say. Sorry for taking so long, I had sudden inspiration for a new SakuIta story called Mirage. It's in the M rated section.

Thanks for reviewing. They keep me going every day. And please review whenever you favorite, I would appreciate it. Now...I need some sleep...yeah, I know this chapter sucked but I blame it on depression from losing my muse.(Deidei) Be prepared for more pranks in future chapters.

PLEASE REVIEW! DON'T JUST CLICK ON FAV AND LEAVE IT LIKE THAT! EVEN IF IT'S JUST TO SAY HI! (Yeah Im in a grumpy mood this week...sorry)

Thanks again,

Narutochica : )

Useless Trivia: Deidara didn't know he had water sprinklers. What a dummy.(But I still love you and rest in peace!)


	5. So Close

**So Close**

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, he would own me.

Hinata groaned and rolled over, the mattress beneath her molding to her curves as she shifted her body for more comfort. Next to her, Deidara mumbled something incoherently under his breath, the only pillow(and her) clutched tightly in his arms.

Hinata's eyes flew open at the small noise, pearly lavender orbs meeting what used to be a perfectly white ceiling. Now colored gray by a thin layer of soot(and several foot prints) it was only a fraction of the damage caused within the past twelve hours. Deidara yawned, then kicked out with one leg, sending her flying off the bed.

The resounding crash that followed was apparently less than enough to wake him up, and Hinata shakily stood up from where she had fallen, an aching bottom to add to her current pains.

Time had called for a truce, leaving them both to vacate the blond's room as a temporary resting place. Limping over to the bed, Hinata stood and glared down at him dully before yanking the pillow out of his hands, making sure to replace it with a fully clothed blow-up doll(!) she found in a cabinet. She had no idea why he would own a doll in the first place, and frankly, she did not want to know either.

Tucking the pillow under one arm, she headed to her bedroom, taking care not to step on the various pieces of furniture scattered about. It was only when she reached the security of her bedroom did she bury her head in the pillow and scream in frustration.

A maiden's cry of distress.

When she was done she flopped back on the bed and hugged the pillow to her chest, welcoming the softness it provided for her aching body. The events of last night were to blame for her condition, yet she could help but smile softly at the sadistic pleasure she felt at the blond's expense.

_Flashback_

Hinata lay peacefully on her bed, the usual blush adorning her cheeks as she thought about her former crush, Naruto. She had gotten over him long ago, though there were some occasions in which her old feelings for him arose again. Imagining his arms around her waist as he whispered sweet nothings to her, she let out a content sigh, oblivious of the effect it had on a certain Akatsuki who was hovering over her still form.

Deidara watched, transfixed, as she snuggled in more comfortably, his oversized t-shirt having ridden up, exposing her creamy legs. This was his perfect chance. Maybe he could take her now, and worry about getting revenge on her later.

Slowly, so as not to wake her, he slipped into the space next to her, cursing himself silently every time she made as if to wake up. His "tools for revenge" lay on the floor, forgotten for the time being. Once he was in, all thoughts of sex slipped his mind when she suddenly turned toward him, doe eyes wide open and staring right into his own. A few tense seconds passed, during which Deidara seriously contemplated shoving a chunk of C4 down his throat and ending his life right then and there. Having had a few choice encounters with girls like his own lavender-eyed princess, he knew that a hasty death was preferable to a slow, torturous one that she was no doubt planning.

"Naruto-kun.?" Her lips turned up in a faint smile. Deidara suppressed a wince.

Hinata's eyes focused, then closed again, and her soft breathing was heard again. A little shiver of anticipation ran up and his spine; releasing the breath he had been holding, shifted closer to her, drinking in the sight of her delicate face, her midnight blue hair that spilled over the pillow like a sheet of silk. Her pearly eyes were closed, and he felt his heart ache for being unable to see the lavender orbs he admired so much.

Deidara's almond-shaped eyes traveled down from her long eyelashes to her little nose(he thought it was cute) and finally stopped at her mouth. The sight of her luscious, pink lips made his heartbeat increase tenfold, which was something remarkable in itself. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she were expecting a kiss.

And Deidara was more than willing to give it.

Hesitantly, he leaned over and captured her lips with his own, arms wrapping around her fragile frame. He had caught her this time, and he'd be damned if he let her escape again. Impatiently, he deepened the kiss, a silent plea for her to cooperate. Of course, the fact that she was still asleep was a factor as to whether or not his desires were met, but in this case he was grateful with what he got.

To his utter shock(and pleasure) Hinata sighed contentedly and reversed their positions so thatshe was on top, her small hands pressing into his warm chest, iridescent eyes shy and questioning. Allowing a smirk to grace his lips Deidara snatched both her tiny wrists in one hand before she could make another move.

"What do you think you're doing,un?" His princess only blushed cutely before burying her face in his chest so her reply was muffled. "I...I thought it's what you wanted..."

Deidara frowned at the sudden change in her behavior. Only a few hours before was she completely opposed to him. Her cunning demeanor was replaced by the sweet gentleness that had attracted him to her in the first place. Maybe she was playing hard to get after all? Or was this all some kind of nasty trick?

A soft sob broke into his thoughts; cupping her chin in one hand he slowly lifted her head to meet her tear-streaked eyes. Those glorious orbs were touched silver in the moonlight that filtered through the window. The stirring feeling within his heart returned, stronger than ever. Unwilling to succumb to the odd feeling he forced himself to stare directly into her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" He asked a little more harshly than he intended. Hinata bit her bottom lip and looked away. "I...thought you were...unsatisfied...with me..."

"Don't say that." He gripped her wrists hard. "I'm making you mine, and I am satisfied enough with that. Now shut up, n"

Okay, so that wasn't exactly _how_ he meant to comfort her, but hey, it did seem to work..

Hinata complied and closed her eyes as she found herself being pinned down to the mattress. Heart pounding heavily, the blond Akatsuki captured her lips once more, delving deeper than before, desiring her to submit to and respond to his overtures.

Suddenly, as if possessed, her arms tightened around his neck, drawing a pained grunt from her partner as her nails dug into his skin. _What a feisty one for eighteen...but I know how to deal with her type..._He abruptly sat up(bringing her with him) and fisted his hand firmly in her hair.

"Stop crying and turn over. Now."

She wiped her tears away with a balled hand. "U-um...wh-what?"

"You heard me, un."

'"Wh-why?"

"You'll see."

She stared at him with wide eyes for a few more seconds, then slowly did as he asked. _Perfect...now she's right where I want her... _With a last smirk of triumph, he leaned forward and let his fingers glide slowly up her legs until they reached the lining of her underwear(which, in fact, belonged to _him_. And yes, they were the white ones with red lipstick kiss marks all over them)

Never had his y-fronts looked so damn sexy.

Hooking eager fingers under the thin cloth, he was in the process of pulling them down when her hand stopped him. She was looking right at him over her back, lower lip sticking out in a cute pout.

"What now, un?" By now his voice was low and ragged; he was desperate, yet a tiny, little voice in his head(which no doubt had a higher IQ ) was warning him that he was in for a huge disappointment.

This was right before he tucked it away in a dark, insignificant part of his mind.

Without asking his permission, she sat up and slowly prodded her fingers together, a light blush tinting her face pink. "I-I want to tell you something..." There it was; the little tiny half-smile he saw on her face only when she was about to pull a fast one on him.

"Well? Get on with it." He narrowed his eyes in warning, daring her to ruin such a good moment.

"Come closer." He hesitated to at first, not quite trusting her intentions. _Uh, wait. Am I actually scared of this woman? Hell no! It's just...her aura is one of the purest evil..._(A/N He's exaggerating)

He sighed carelessly, then reached his arm around her waist and pulled her closer when she placed her hands gently on his thighs.

"Um...I was wondering...w-would you like to be my first..."

_Why the hell would she be asking me that? What does she think I'm doing now, un!?_

"...kiss?"

_Her first kiss? Does she really...? _Inner Deidara squealed with glee, as the blond Akatsuki stoically(but triumphantly) pinned her down and pressed his lips greedily to hers. The corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk, and it was then that realization struck him like a knee to the groin.

_Hang on a sec...didn't I kiss her already? _He opened his eyes only find himself face to face with a thousand others.

"EEEEEEEEEK!!!! BUUUGS!" Faceted orbs with mirror-like surfaces reflected the essence of pure horror to the beheld victim as the large dark mass that lay under him erupted into a swarm of kikaichu beetles that surrounded his body, crawling on his face, chest, down his other pair of kiss-stained y-fronts(the ones he was currently wearing) and(as a further disgrace) in his hair. "Damn her,"he swore under his breath as he rolled off the bed to escape from the tiny pincers that scraped teasingly at his skin. _Teasingly._ The girl was mocking him, all right. There he was,shirtless, in his underwear, covered in insect bites.

And that Hyuuga could have killed him with the little insect stunt she had just pulled. Cursing profusely, he beat the insects off him and glanced around the room, stony gaze sweeping the exterior of every object in sight.

_That little...wait till I get my hands on her!_ Deidara did _not _like being made a fool of. And he'd be damned if it happened again.

After once more casting a wary glance around the dark, moonlit room he was about to exit when he suddenly remembered the supplies he'd dropped carelessly to the floor when he found his hime curled up contentedly in bed.

Except, they had mysteriously gone missing. The fire extinguisher, the smoke bombs- all gone.

_Of course...she came out and took them while I was distracted by that bug clone. Now, where could Hime be?_

This was turning out rather interesting; He was weaponless, and he had no idea where his hime was. Even the bugs had gone.

Beautiful.

_Well,_he thought, glancing at the rumpled sheets on her bed. _If she refuses to come out...I may have to flush her out instead...but I'm a nice guy...I'll wait._

"You know, Hime," He raised his voice so that it could be heard throughout the penthouse. "That wasn't very nice, un." He walked slowly out her room, hands clasped behind his back. Though he was presenting himself in a mild and meek fashion, his mind was at work calculating the best way to avenge his pride and take what rightfully belonged to him.

A light fluttering sound disrupted his thoughts and he stalked toward the source if the noise, hoping desperately that it was his future masterpiece. His feet led him to a closet, the white door practically glowing like a beacon in the darkness the night cast upon the hallway. He wasted no time in ripping it open. In fact, he was so excited he ripped the door right off it's hinges. "Aha! I've got you now, un!"

"Coo?" A pair of dark beady eyes glared down at him from a shelf. "Coo?" The mourning dove said once more before dealing him a severe peck between the eyes. "Aw, shit!" He cursed quietly before wiping at the small cut with a balled hand. _I guess I deserved that...even though it's a case of 'biting the hand that feeds you'. Hmph._

He was about to go on to the den when a shadow flickered across the kitchen's moonlit floor. The skylight on the kitchen's ceiling allowed the moon's lit to tint the floor a peculiar light shade of blue with a bit of gray mixed in.

With long strides he made his way to that destination, stopping once more to survey his surroundings. Inside the cupboards, inside the fridge, under the table, anywhere in which a young, vengeful woman may be hiding.

_It's a shame he never thought of looking on top of the fridge, _Hinata thought as she looked down at him from that perch. She crouched lower against the machine's metal top and shrank back further against the wall.The fire extinguisher she had snagged from him earlier rested between her legs, where she could keep it from rolling off. The clay smoke bombs...well those, she had put elsewhere.

"I won't hurt you, Hime, if you will just come out and talk me. We can both act like civilized adults, un?" From past experiences Hinata knew that when someone said they wouldn't hurt you, most of the time they were lying. She stayed where she was.

"Hime? Hinata?" He called out in a low voice, taking his time as he searched the room thoroughly. He paused at the counter and opened a tiny jar of peanut butter, peeking inside to see if she was hiding in there.

Unable to suppress it, the young heiress let out a quiet giggle at his ridiculous action. The image of the Akatsuki getting so desperate that he would look inside a bottle seemed so childish and funny, that she couldn't resist. She clamped her hand over her mouth, barely managing to hold back the barrage of laughter that threatened to spill out.

_Hm...looks like Hime has a weakness for a good laugh...un. _Deidara smirked as he replaced the lid on the jar, glancing out the corner of his eye at the refrigerator unit behind him. _So that's where she is...cute, but she could still do better. _So absorbed was he in this little game of cat and mouse that he failed to realize that he was truly enjoying himself for the first time in years. Life in the Akatsuki had(in his opinion) restricted his freedom to express his art in the ways that he preferred to. In the days before he had even _heard _of Akatsuki he followed a strict regiment of blowing up at least five buildings a day. Now, due to the interference of one Uchiha Itachi he was down to one, or, if he was lucky, even three. And those were for missions only. For now, there was nothing much for him to amuse himself with except for his painting, into which he had become obsessed.

If he was unable to blow things up whenever he wanted to, why not just paint it on paper instead? What was the use of destroying something in a myriad of light and smoke without being able _remember _how it looked like?

But that aside, he had found himself a new amusement in his masterpiece and he was not about to let her go, no matter what.

"Hm, I wonder where she is, un." he said aloud, pacing around slowly. He still wore his teasing grin, and Hinata couldn't help snickering a bit. "Oh, Hime? Are you...here?" He opened the door of the dishwasher. Empty. "Or...here?" He whipped around and lifted the lid off an empty trashcan. "No, not here either, un. Or maybe..." He grinned wickedly, and the young heiress gulped audibly. "Up here!"

Fast as lightning he leapt to the top of the fridge, crowding her against the wall and effectively trapping her, an arm on either side of her head. Sadly for him, he had misjudged the distance and ended up bashing his head into the ceiling so hard that it came out through the floor of the women's locker room of the gym on the floor above. Even worse, it was currently occupied by several late-night cyclists who were changing out of their sweat suits. Several pairs of eyes stared at him in awe until one, particularly loud voice broke the silence.

"Eeeew, a pervert! Quick, ladies, after him!" As much as he tried, he found himself unable to pull his head back down.

Deidara gulped and chuckled nervously as one of them took off her belt and began cracking it dangerously. "Uh, hey, wh-what are you planning to do with that?" His eyes flicked to a younger woman, who was advancing on him with a suspicious-looking orange book. "No...that's not..."

"Oh yes it is." She held up the title. "Make-out Tactics: Advanced Sadism for your Uke and You."

"Noooooo!"

"And guess what? It includes a complimentary Uke paddle!"

"Yeah. You have been a naughty boy, and I think boys like yo need a spanking."

"No! Not by the hair on my nice smooth rear!"

"Eeeew, he has hair on his butt? Yuck!" And with a single blow from the Uke paddle, he was sent right back down to his awestruck hime.

"So, Hime..." The blond Akatsuki growled, frosty eyes catching hers in a dangerous gaze. "I see you've made yourself busy this night?" She nodded slowly, a smile spreading it's way across her face.

It took an unholy amount of self-control to prevent himself from jumping her at that instant. Something about that smile unnerved him.

"Hime?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you smiling like that?" Her smile grew wider, and it was then that he noticed the glint in her eyes. Not to mention the nozzle of the fire extinguisher aimed at his heart.

Time slowed for an instant; Deidara's eyes widened, his mouth opening in a surprised yell as he realized the impending doom that was to come upon him. And even then, the heiress' smile grew into a sadistic grin as she pressed the nozzle, a thick stream of foam and water hitting the Akatsuki square in the chest.

Like a winged being the blond Akatsuki soared backward through the air, over the table, out of the room and slid halfway down the hallway until he came to a stop by the doorless closet.

Hinata shut off the extinguisher, then stared open mouthed at the still man. _I didn't think he'd go that far...wow...did I kill him?_

Though she honestly hated the guy, she wasn't one to abandon a person in need, even if he was a tacky artist with an even tackier style of dress. Never had y-fronts looked so _unappealing. _

Trying to rid herself of that traumatic image, she lay the fire extinguisher down and clambered off the fridge, all the while keeping both eyes on the motionless man.

"D-deidara?"

No answer.

Now more worried than scared, she quickened her pace until she stood over him. His eyes were closed, his arms and legs splayed outwards, and his neck was bent to the side at a dangerous angle. _No..._

The heiress fell to her knees, feeling helpless as she crawled closer to take a better look.

"Deidara?" No response.

_Oh no...I hope I didn't kill him...I mean, he isn't that bad...okay, well, that was a lie but still...maybe I overdid it a bit? _Then she remembered what he had done to her teammates two days prior. _No...I can't feel sorry for him, not after what he did...although...I wanted to hurt him...but not so much he died..._

Now that she could see him up close and personal, he didn't seem all that bad. He rather reminded her of Naruto in some weird way she couldn't quite put her finger on. But there was a chance he was still alive. Maybe...

She hesitated, then lowered her head until it rested right on top his stomach. There was no heartbeat.

"A-are you asleep?" Still no answer. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized the enormity of what she had done. In all her years as a  
kunoichi, never before had she killed someone. Whether it be a missing-nin or an Akatsuki, it made no difference. She had killed, and there was nothing she could do to bring him back._  
_

_I never meant to go so far...but it was the right thing to do...for myself and my village...I can go home now. _

Though a part of her mind was screaming at her to get up and leave as fast as possible, her legs wouldn't let her. Instead, she leaned closer to the still body and ran her fingers lightly over the black markings on his chest, still hoping to feel even the tiniest heartbeat, but knowing all efforts to do so would end in failure.

_What an insult, yeah..._Deidara thought grumpily to himself. _As if that little fall was enough to_ _even hurt...looks like I'm not the only one who's been underestimating others. But why is she staying here?Anyone would have gone off by now... _The sound of her quiet sobs reached his ears. _Is she crying for me? Why? I hurt her, I hurt her friends, yet she still has enough pity in her heart to cry for me? I don't get it._

_Maybe it's because she's a better person than me. I don't deserve a woman like Hime...but maybe...I can teach her to like me..._

"Don't cry, Hime." At the sound of his voice she froze and gazed at him with wide, watery eyes.

"Y-you're alive?"

"Yeah..." The desire in her eyes made him feel the odd sensation fluttering within his chest again. _Is this what loves feels like?_

**SLAP!**

"Hey, what was that for, un?"

"For being alive, what else? In fact, this gives me the perfect chance to get you back for punching me in the eye earlier!"

Deidara rubbed at his swollen cheek and shot her a dirty look. "Oh really? And what do you plan on doing, then?"

At that precise second the Uke paddle dropped through the hole in the ceiling. Hinata grinned.

It was going to be a long, long night.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Well guys, before you all try and get me with blunt objects, I just want to say I am so sorry I put off writing this story for so long. I really don't have any excuses except for a lack of inspiration, and a bad case of ADD(who knew I had it?) I am so sorry this chapter is so short and sucks. It was going to be longer, but then i got another review saying they wanted me to update soon so I cut it short. Due to my state of mind, this may turn into a crack fic. And Hinata is just too evil now. Hm...

A.S. Itachi: I knew she was going to go bonkers eventually.

E.R. Hinata: Er, don't you belong to Akatsuki's Sunshine? In this story, I fall in love with Deidara, not you.

A.S. Itachi: Well, this stupid chick is taking so long updating, I decided to visit this story for a while.

E.R. Itachi: Who the hell are you talking to, Hinata-chan?

E.R. Hinata: You.

I seriously don't know when I will update A.S, but I know how the rest of the story will play out. I just have no idea how to write the next chapter.

As for Mirage, I will update next month(don't believe me)

And I started a new NaruHina story called sage. I know some of my fellow female readers have a problem with it being Naruharem, but I promise, it ends NaruHina and NaruHina only. If you want, please check it out, although I think I do a better job with this story and Mirage.

And I have a suggestion for any readers: Write a story about a Naruto character you hate with all your heart, but put them in a positive light. It worked with me and Sakura, although hands down Hinata is still my favorite.

Thank you all for supporting me and reading and reviewing,

Narutochica :3

If you want to ask any questions about my next updates, please email me. My email address is on my profile, and I may be putting a new poll on soon.

Useless Trivia: If Deidara lives in a penthouse, why is there still another floor above his?


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